TALKS  ON  LATIN  AMERICA 

GEORGE  H.  TRULL 


LIBRARY  OF  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


PRINCETON.  N.  J. 
Presented  by 

0\\j^c\ or. 


Division 

Section... 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2017  with  funding  from 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


https://archive.org/details/talksonlatinamerOOtrul 


Talks  on  Latin  America 


By 

S 

GEORGE  H.  TRULL 


Editor  of  “Missionary  Studies  for  the  Sunday  School”  First, 
Second  and  Third  Series.  Author  of  “Missionary 
Methods  for  Sunday  School  Workers,”  “Five  Mission- 
ary Minutes,”  “Missionary  Programs  and  Inci- 
dents;” joint  author  of  “The  Sunday  School 
Teacher  and  the  Program  of  Jesus” 


Sunday  School  Department 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  the  U.  S.  A. 

New  York  City 


Copyright,  1916. 


By  George  H.  Trull 


To 


My  Wife  and  Children 


CONTENTS 


Chapter  Page 

Preface .1  ...  7 

I.  Introductory  Talk,  Our  Latin  American 

Neighbors 11 

II.  Talk  on  Mexico 21 

III.  Talk  on  Guatemala 33 

IV.  Talk  on  Colombia 43 

V.  Talk  on  Chile 53 

VI.  Talk  on  Brazil 69 

VII.  Talk  on  Venezuela 85 

How  to  Use  the  Map,  Motto  and  Chart  Ma- 
terial   97 

Mottoes  and  Charts 99 

Bibliography 109 


Key  Map  of  Latin  America 


. at  end  of  book 


Talks  on  Latin  America 

PREFACE 

The  following  material  has  been  prepared  for 
use  in  Sunday  Schools.  It  is  adapted  for  both  class 
and  platform  use.  When  used  in  the  classes,  it  may 
be  supplemental  to  the  Bible  lesson  of  the  day  and 
ten  or  fifteen  minutes  should  be  devoted  to  it  at  the 
beginning  of  the  class  session.  Each  teacher  should 
have  a copy  of  the  booklet  and  prepare  the  lesson 
in  advance.  Encourage  the  pupils  to  use  notebooks, 
in  which  striking  facts  may  be  recorded  and  maps 
drawn  locating  the  mission  stations.  Material 
placed  on  the  blackboard  may  also  be  copied  in  the 
notebooks.  Pictures  may  be  cut  out  and  pasted  in 
the  note-books,  using  the  collection  found  in  “Child 
Life  Pictures,  South  America/’  price  io  cents.  See 
also  current  magazines,  secular  and  missionary. 

As  an  encouragement  to  pupils  to  use  note- 
books, and  for  others  to  make  posters  or  charts,  it 
is  suggested  that  each  school  have  an  exhibit  at  the 
close  of  the  course  and  give  honorable  mention  to 
all  pupils  whose  notebooks  attain  80  per  cent, 
credit,  and  to  all  whose  posters  attain  like  credit. 
The  grading  should  be  marked  by  an  impartial 
committee. 

When  the  Talks  are  used  as  Platform  instruc- 


7 


tion,  the  Superintendent  or  other  Leader  should 
make  use  of  the  large  outline  wall  map  of  Latin 
America  (40x48  inches  on  durable  map  paper,  price 
twenty  cents,  postpaid),  and  should  locate  from 
week  to  week  the  Presbyterian  mission  stations 
under  our  Foreign  Board,  drilling  the  school  until 
everyone  is  familiar  with  these  stations,-  their  work 
and  needs.  See  the  key  map  at  the  end  of  this 
volume.  Encourage  Intermediate  and  Senior  pu- 
pils to  enlarge  to  poster  size,  for  display  in  the 
Sunday  School  room,  the  motto  and  chart  material 
found  on  pages  99  to  108;  also  to  make  original 
charts  and  posters. 

“Latin  American  Stories,”  compiled  by  George 
H.  Trull,  price  25  cents,  furnish  the  story  material 
to  be  used  in  connection  with  these  Talks.  They 
are  for  use  in  all  grades,  being  suitable  for  such 
adaptation  as  may  be  demanded.  They  will  be 
especially  valuable  in  the  Platform  work  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Talks. 

In  connection  with  the  Talks,  the  Year  Book  of 
Prayer  for  Foreign  Missions  should  be  used,  as  it 
contains  the  names  and  locations  of  all  our  mission- 
aries in  the  countries  studied.  Familiarize  the  pu- 
pils with  the  names  of  these  missionaries,  and  en- 
courage offering  daily  prayer  for  them.  Secure  also 
from  the  Educational  Secretary  of  the  Foreign 
Board,  the  Prayer  Cycle  for  members  of  Mission 
Study  Classes  using  “The  Living  Christ  for  Latin 
America,” 

As  a fitting  preparation  for  presenting  “Talks  on 
Latin  America”  or  “Latin  American  Stories,”  offi- 


8 


cers  and  teachers  should  form  study  classes,  using 
as  a text-hook  “The  Living  Christ  for  Latin 
America,”  by  Rev.  J.  H.  McLean. 

The  equipment  which  every  school  should  have 
is  as  follows : 

1.  Talks  on  Latin  America  for  the  Superinten- 
dents and  every  Teacher. 

2.  Latin  American  Stories  for  the  General  and 
each  Department  Superintendent,  and  for  Teachers. 

3.  Outline  Latin  American  Wall  Map,  size  qox 
48  inches. 

4.  Small  outline  maps,  11x14  inches,  on  Central 
and  on  South  America,  for  notebook  use. 

5.  Child  Life  Pictures,  South  America:  one  set 
for  the  Bulletin  Board,  and  additional  sets  for  those 
using  note-books. 

6.  The  Year  Book  of  Prayer  for  Foreign  Mis- 
sions. Also  the  Prayer  Cycle  for  Study  Classes 
using  “The  Living  Christ  for  Latin  America.” 

7.  Reference  Material  on  Latin  America.  See 
Bibliography  on  pages  109  and  no. 

More  material  is  offered  in  the  Talks  than  can 
ordinarily  be  covered  in  ten  minutes  from  the  plat- 
form, in  order  that  selection  may  be  made  of  certain 
things  for  special  emphasis,  or  a story  told  from 
“Latin  American  Stories.”  Some  schools  may  de- 
sire to  devote  more  than  one  Sunday  to  a Talk. 
The  best  results  will  be  secured  from  a consecutive 
study  of  the  Talks  rather  than  to  take  them  up  once 
a month,  and  by  using  them  both  in  the  classes  and 
from  the  platform. 

Let  the  aim  throughout  the  course  be  to  arouse 


9 


and  deepen  an  interest  in  Latin  America  that  will 
issue  in  practical  results.  Schools  desiring  to  invest 
funds  in  Mission  Stations  in  Latin  America  under 
the  Foreign  Board  should  write  to  the  Board’s  Sun- 
day School  Secretary.  Young  people  desiring  to 
become  missionaries  in  Latin  America  should  ad- 
dress the  Candidate  Secretary  of  the  Board,  156 
Fifth  Avenue,  New  York  City. 

Grateful  acknowledgment  of  help  furnished  by 
Miss  Blanche  B.  Bonine  in  preparation  of  the  Talk 
on  Mexico  is  hereby  made,  and  to  others  of  our 
missionaries  in  Latin  America  whose  reports  and 
writings  have  been  drawn  upon.  It  is  hoped  that 
the  perusal  of  these  Talks  by  our  Sunday  School 
teachers  and  pupils  will  arouse  an  abiding  interest 
in  Latin  America— -an  interest  that  is  motor. 

George  H.  Trull. 

Echo  Lake,  Pa., 

September  7,  1916. 


10 


Talks  on  Latin  America 

Introductory  Talk 

OUR  LATIN  AMERICAN  NEIGHBORS 

I want  to  tell  you  something  about  your  neigh- 
bors in  Latin  America. 

How  many  of  you  have  ever  heard  of  Panama? 
(Hands  up.)  What  has  Uncle  Sam  been  doing 
down  there  the  last  few  years?  (Draw  out  the  re- 
ply: Building  a canal.)  It  is  the  biggest  piece  of 
engineering  the  world  has  ever  seen.  The  Suez 
Canal  is  a sea  level  ditch.  The  Panama  Canal  had 
to  be  cut  through  mountains  and  is  50  miles  long. 
We  are  proud  of  what  Uncle  Sam  has  done.  In  or- 
der to  dig  the  canal  he  had  to  kill  the  mosquitoes 
that  carried  fever  and  plague.  It  was  as  big  a task 
to  rid  Panama  of  the  mosquitoes  as  it  was  to  dig  the 
canal.  But  Uncle  Sam  has  done  both. 

Panama  is  a republic — one  of  the  smallest  in  the 
world.  Before  Uncle  Sam  took  hold  of  the  canal,  it 
was  a bit  of  jungle  which  belonged  to  Colombia  in 
South  America.  Who  can  tell  the  direction  of  the 
Panama  Canal?  (You  might  think,  from  east  to 
west,  but  if  you  will  look  closely  at  any  map  of  the 
canal,  you  will  see  it  is  from  north  to  south.)  This 
little  republic  of  Panama  is  one  of  21  in  the  Western 
Hemisphere,  and  is  midway  between  them,  ten 


11 


lying  to  the  north  of  the  canal  and  ten  to  the  south. 

Who  can  tell  me  which  is  the  biggest  of  the  re- 
publics north  of  Panama?  (Draw  out  the  reply: 
The  United  States  of  America.)  Who  can  tell  me 
which  is  the  biggest  to  the  south  of  Panama? 
(Draw  out  the  reply : Brazil.)  It  is  245,000  square 
miles  larger  than  the  United  States  excluding 
Alaska.  You  could  put  into  Brazil,  the  United 
States  of  America,  the  British  Isles,  Italy,  and  the 
Netherlands. 

I suppose  you  are  acquainted  with  your  North 
American  neighbors — the  people  who  live  next  door 
to  you,  or  on  the  next  farm  if  you  live  in  the  coun- 
try. I want  to  tell  you  to-day  something  about 
your  neighbors  in  some  of  these  Latin  American 
republics.  We  Presbyterians  are  particularly  inter- 
ested through  our  Foreign  Board  in  six  of  them — 
Mexico  and  Guatemala,  north  of  Panama,  and  Ven- 
ezuela, Colombia,  Chile  and  Brazil  south  of  Panama. 
I wonder  who  can  now  name  these  six  countries? 
(Have  some  member  of  the  school  come  forward 
and  point  out  on  the  map  the  countries  mentioned.) 

I am  glad  that  I have  here  to-day  an  outline  map* 
which  shows  these  countries.  Suppose  we  insert 
the  names,  first.  That  will  help  us  to  remember 
these  six  countries.  On  other  Sundays  when  we 
study  each  separately,  we  shall  learn  in  what  places 
our  church  is  working .* 

t Use  the  Outline  Latin  American  Wall  Map,  40x48  inches, 
durable  paper.  Price  20  cents  postpaid. 

* Small  outline  maps  of  South  America  and  of  Central  Amer- 
ica, each  11x14  inches,  may  be  obtained  at  15  cents  a dozen  from 
McKinley  Publishing  Co.,  Philadelphia,  Pa.  These  may  be  used 
for  note-book  work. 


12 


Those  who  are  using  the  small  outline  maps  in 
their  note-books,  will  be  able  to  put  on  them  all  that 
we  have  on  this  larger  map  from  week  to  week. 

In  what  two  countries  north  of  Panama  is  our 
Presbyterian  Church  at  work  through  the  Foreign 
Board?  (Mexico  and  Guatemala.)  Mexico  ad- 
joins our  own  borders.  It  is  our  nearest  neighbor. 
It  is  a mountainous  country  and  rich  in  minerals. 
It  has  had  bad  government,  however,  and  the  rich 
have  oppressed  the  poor  so  that  there  has  been 
much  bloodshed  and  revolution.  We  shall  have 
another  lesson  on  this  country  later. 

Guatemala  is  the  smallest  country  in  Latin 
America  where  our  Foreign  Board  is  at  work.  It 
lies  on  a narrow  strip  of  land  south  of  Mexico  be- 
fore you  get  to  Panama.  It  is  one  of  the  Central 
American  republics,  and  it,  too,  is  mountainous.  We 
will  return  later  to  study  more  particularly  this  in- 
teresting little  land. 

Let  us  look  now  at  the  great  sister  continent  ot 
South  America.  Look  at  the  map  a moment.  Does 
it  lie  directly  south  of  North  America?  You  will 
note  that  it  is  really  southeast. 

Valparaiso,  on  the  west  coast  of  Chile,  is  due 
south  of  Boston.  Most  of  South  America,  there- 
fore, lies  east  of  New  York  City. 

There  are  ten  republics  in  South  America,  the 
three  Guianas  being  under  European  control.  Name 
the  countries,  please— (Venezuela,  Colombia,  Ecua- 
dor, Peru,  Bolivia,  Chile,  Argentine,  Uruguay,  Par- 
aguay and  Brazil). 


13 


SIZE:  South  America  is,  in  round  numbers, 
about  one  million  square  miles  smaller  than  North 
America;  to  be  exact,  961,000  square  miles.  Its 
population  is  about  half  that  of  the  United  States. 

MOUNTAINS:  The  western  part  of  South 
America  is  mountainous,  containing  some  of  the 
highest  peaks  in  the  world.  They  are  a continua- 
tion of  the  great  mountain  range  that  is  in  the  west- 
ern part  of  North  America.  Nestled  up  in  the  great 
mountains  of  Bolivia  is  La  Paz.  Out  in  Denver, 
Colorado,  there  is  a mile-stone  on  a certain  corner 
which  indicates  that  at  that  point  Denver  is  one 
mile  above  sea  level,  a mile  up  in  the  air.  La  Paz 
is  two  miles  up  in  the  air,  and  that  is  only  the  half- 
way house  to  the  high  peak,  Aconcagua,  in  Chile, 
which  is  22,868  feet  high.  On  the  whole  coast  line 
from  Panama  to  Patagonia,  of  4,500  miles  there  is 
only  one  large  city,  Valparaiso  in  Chile.  Lima  the 
capital  of  Peru  is  not  right  on  the  coast,  but  about 
six  miles  inland  from  its  port,  Callao. 

RIVERS:  South  America  not  only  has  the 
highest  mountains  in  the  Western  Hemisphere,  but 
the  greatest  rivers.  We  are  proud  of  our  beautiful 
Hudson  and  our  splendid  Columbia  in  the  great 
northwest,  but  South  America  can  boast  rivers 
much  mightier  than  these.  The  Amazon  drains  an 
area  a million  square  miles  larger  than  does  the 
Mississippi.  You  can  enter  the  mouth  of  the  Ama- 
zon near  the  equator  and  travel  on  an  ocean  steam- 
er a distance  equalling  that  from  New  York  to 
Omaha.  On  a medium  size  steamer  you  can  travel 
on  the  Amazon  and  its  tributaries  a distance  equal- 


ly 


ling  the  circumference  of  the  earth  at  the  equator. 

Who  can  tell  me  how  far  that  is?  (Draw  reply: 
25,000  miles.) 

If  you  travel  on  a smaller  boat  you  can  go  twice 
that  distance.  How  far  would  that  be?  (50,000 
miles.) 

You  can  enter  the  Amazon  River  in  the  tropics 
wearing  a straw  hat  and  summer  clothes,  travel 
west,  then  south,  finally  reaching  the  River  Plate: 
pass  by  Buenos  Aires,  the  greatest  city  in  South 
America,  and  come  again  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean 
below  Montevideo,  and  be  in  the  temperate  zone 
where  you  will  need  warm  clothing  and  even  an 
overcoat  to  be  comfortable  from  the  chilly  breezes. 
The  River  Plate  at  its  mouth  below  Montevideo  is 
150  miles  wide,  a distance  equalling  that  from  the 
Hudson  to  the  Susquehanna  River. 

PRODUCTS : In  the  mountains,  along  the  riv- 
ers, and  on  the  great  plains  of  South  America  there 
is  untold  wealth.  In  the  mountains  are  tin,  lead, 
iron,  silver  and  gold.  In  the  deserts  of  North  Chile 
are  the  great  nitrate  deposits  which  are  the  chief 
source  of  wealth  of  that  republic.  How  many  of 
you  have  ever  seen  a flock  of  sheep  or  a herd  of 
cattle?  (Hands  up.)  About  how  many  animals 
were  in  these  flocks  or  herds?  (Draw  out  replies.) 

On  the  plains  of  the  Argentine  in  1914  there 
were  in  pasture  eighty  million  sheep  and  forty-three 
million  cattle,  horses,  goats,  hogs  and  other  ani- 
mals. The  Argentine  is  shipping  to  the  United 
States  and  Europe  millions  of  dollars’  worth  of 
frozen  meat.  It  is  not  uncommon  for  a vessel  to 


15 


carry  five  million  dollars’  worth  of  such  meat  on  a 
single  trip. 

Many  of  you  have  ridden  in  automobiles.  What 
are  the  tires  made  of?  Do  you  know  where  the 
rubber  comes  from?  Half  of  the  world’s  supply 
comes  from  the  Amazon  Valley  in  Brazil.  You 
have  coffee  on  your  table  for  breakfast.  Do  you 
know  where  most  of  the  coffee  of  the  world  comes 
from?  Four-fifths  of  it  from  Latin  America.  Brazil 
controls  the  coffee  market  of  the  world.  Sugar, 
which  sweetens  your  coffee,  also  comes  from  Latin 
America  in  large  measure.  Porto  Rico  is  one  big 
sugar  plantation,  95  miles  long  and  45  miles  wide. 

Druggists  look  to  South  America  for  some  of 
their  principal  drugs.  When  you  have  a bad  cold 
or  chills  and  fever,  the  doctor  gives  you  quinine. 
This  comes  from  South  America,  as  does  also  co- 
caine, which  is  used  by  the  doctors  to  deaden  pain. 

POPULATION : The  people  who  live  in  South 
America  are  (1)  the  Indians,  whose  forefathers 
have  been  there  the  longest;  then  came  (2)  the 
Spanish  and  Portuguese  conquerors.  Maybe  you 
would  like  to  hear  the  story  of  one  of  the  most  fa- 
mous of  them,  Francisco  Pizarro.  Mr 

will  tell  us. 

Note:  Some  one  before  appointed  will  now  come  forward 
and  tell  In  his  own  words  the  following: 

Down  on  the  west  coast  of  South  America  lies  the 
country  of  Peru.  Four  hundred  years  ago  it  was  in- 
habited wholly  by  Indians  who  had  built  up  a high  state 
of  civilization  and  a great  empire.  They  had  great 
wealth  in  gold,  and  stories  about  it  had  reached  the 
settlement  of  Spaniards  on  the  Isthmus  of  Panama. 

Among  these  Spaniards  was  a hardy  adventurer 

16 


named  Francisco  Pizarro.  He  was  the  chief  lieutenant 
of  Balboa  and  was  with  him  when  he  discovered  the 
Pacific  Ocean.  The  tales  of  fabulous  wealth  that  was 
to  be  found  to  the  south  fired  Pizarro  with  the  deter- 
mination to  go  after  it.  With  a few  followers  he  set 
out  in  1524,  but  instead  of  finding  sands  sparkling  with 
gems  and  golden  nuggets  as  large  as  birds’  eggs  on  the 
shore,  he  encountered  vast  forests,  dismal  swamps  and 
unfriendly  Indians.  The  vessel  on  which  he  sailed  had 
to  return  to  Panama  for  more  provisions  and  while 
it  was  gone,  twenty-seven  of  his  followers  died  of 
disease  and  starvation.  But  Pizarro  was  not  daunted. 
He  made  another  start  and  still  others,  never  showing 
before  his  soldiers  any  sign  of  disappointment  or  dis- 
couragement. He  was  determined  to  succeed. 

Finally  the  governor  of  Panama,  believing  that  it 
was  all  a wild  goose  chase,  sent  two  ships,  ordering 
every  Spaniard  with  Pizarro  to  return.  It  was  a crisis. 
Pizarro’s  men  were  nearly  dead  with  hunger  and  ex- 
posure, they  had  an  opportunity  to  return  to  friends 
and  comforts,  they  were  even  commanded  to  do  so  by 
the  governor,  but  Pizarro  had  no  intention  of  turning 
back.  Drawing  a line  in  the  sand  from  east  to  west 
with  his  sword,  he  said:  “Friends  and  comrades,  on 
that  side  are  toil,  hunger,  fatigue,  the  drenching  storm, 
desertion  and  death;  on  this  side  ease  and  pleasure. 
There  lies  Peru  with  its  riches;  here,  Panama  and  its 
poverty.  Choose,  each  man,  what  best  becomes  a brave 
Castilian.  For  my  part  I go  to  the  south.”  He  stepped 
across  the  line  and  thirteen  others  followed  him.  The 
rest  sailed  back  to  Panama.  Can  you  imagine  how 
those  fourteen  men  felt  as  they  saw  the  ships  sailing 
away,  leaving  them  with  only  the  clothes  on  their  backs  ? 

We  cannot  but  admire  their  resolution  and  their 
bravery.  For  seven  months  they  got  along  as  best 
they  could,  waiting  for  reinforcements  which  they 
hoped  partners  of  Pizarro  in  Panama  would  be  able 
to  send.  The  little  ship  at  last  arrived,  and  Pizarro 
and  his  loyal  band  sailed  to  Tumbez  on  the  Gulf  of 
Guayaquil  at  a point  where  Ecuador  and  Peru  now 
join.  Pizarro  found  here  abundance  of  gold  and  re- 
turned to  Panama  in  triumph  after  an  absence  of  nearly 
four  years.  He  went  on  to  Spain  and  convinced  the 
King,  Charles  V,  of  the  great  treasure  to  be  secured 
in  Peru. 

Charles  appointed  Pizarro  “Governor  of  Peru  with 


1 7 


the  title  of  marquis,  and  put  into  his  capable  hands  the 
double  duty  of  converting  the  Indians  and  stealing 
their  empire.”  He  soon  set  out  and  within  two  years 
fulfilled  his  task  of  stealing  the  empire.  It  is  a roman- 
tic, though  tragic  story. 

With  only  about  150  men,  Pizarro  dared  to  kidnap 
the  person  of  the  Inca  or  Emperor  of  the  Indians.  It 
was  a bold  plan,  but  Pizarro  reasoned  that  if  it  were 
successful  the  Indians  would  be  helpless-,  for  they  had 
no  idea,  of  organization  or  self-government,  but  yielded 
implicit  obedience  to  their  monarch,  whom  they  re- 
garded as  divine. 

On  the  day  which  had  been  agreed  upon  for  the 
meeting  of  Pizarro  and  the  Inca  in  the  city  of  Caja- 
marca,  Pizarro’s  chaplain  greeted  him  with  Bible  in  one 
hand  and  a crucifix  in  the  other,  and  stated  the  Pope 
had  commissioned  the  King  of  Spain  to  conquer  and 
convert  Peru,  and  urged  the  Indians  to  be  baptized  then 
and  there.  The  Inca  was  not  convinced  and  asked 
where  the  priest  had  learned  these  things. 

“In  this,”  said  the  priest,  handing  him  the  Bible. 
The  Inca  held  the  book  up  to  his  ear  eagerly.  “This 
is  silent,”  he  said.  “It  tells  me  nothing,”  and  he  threw 
it  to  the  ground. 

This  enraged  the  priest  and  he  called  to  the  Spanish 
soldiers  in  hiding,  “To  arms,  Christians,  to  arms ! Set 
on  at  once.  I absolve  you.”  Then  began  the  slaughter 
of  the  terrified  Indians.  In  the  confusion,  Pizarro 
carried  off  the  Inca  to  the  Spanish  camp.  The  Inca 
promised  to  pay  as  the  price  of  his  ransom,  a pile  of 
gold  which  would  fill  to  a height  of  nine  feet  above 
the  floor  the  room,  17x22  feet,  in  which  they  were. 
The  gold  was  brought  in  from  all  parts  of  the  empire, 
equal  to  fifteen  and  one-half  million  dollars,  the  largest 
ransom  ever  paid  for  a human  life.  But  after  Pizarro 
had  gotten  the  gold,  he  trumped  up  a charge  of  con- 
spiracy against  the  Inca  and  killed  him  anyhow,  for 
he  feared  if  he  allowed  him  to  go  free,  his  plans  to 
steal  the  empire  from  the  Indians  might  be  balked. 

After  the  death  of  the  Inca,  there  were  a number 
of  battles  between  the  Spaniards  and  Indians,  but  the 
latter  soon  acknowledged  the  superiority  of  the  white 
men  and  the  conquest  of  Peru  was  complete. 

Pizarro,  who  had  so  unscrupulously  killed  the  Inca 
Atahualpa,  was  destined  himself  to  die  a violent  death. 
Conspiracies  rose  against  him,  and  in  June,  1541,  he 

18 


was  slain  in  his  own  home  in  Lima,  the  city  which  he 
had  founded.  Visitors  to  the  cathedral  in  Lima  to-day 
are  shown  what  are  reputed  to  be  the  bones  of  this 
bold  and  daring  adventurer.* 

Leader  now  resumes. 

These  early  conquerors  were  brave  but  cruel 
men.  Their  successors  brought  to  Brazil  many  ne- 
groes from  Africa.  The  descendants  of  the  foreign- 
ers, the  original  Indians,  and  the  mixtures  of  the 
various  races,  together  with  immigrants  from  var- 
ious land,  make  up  the  population  of  South  America 
to-day. 

Let’s  put  some  arithmetic  on  the  blackboard. 
These  figures  are  the  rough  estimates  of  the  present 
population  of  Latin  America  (1916).** 


Whites 18,000,000 

Indians 17,000,000 

Negroes 6,000,000 

Mixed  Whites  and  Indians  30,000,000 
Mixed  Whites  and  Negroes  8,000,000 
Mixed  Negroes  and  Indians  700,000 
East  Indians,  Japanese  and 

Chinese  ______  300,000 


Now  let’s  total  these  figures  and  we  get,  how 
many?  80,000,000 


As  in  North  America,  so  the  Indians  in  South 
America  were  very  cruelly  treated  by  their  con- 

* Abridged  from  sketch  found  in  “Makers  of  South  America,” 
by  Margarette  Daniels.  Published  by  Missionary  Education 
Movement  Prepaid  price,  60  cents  in  cloth,  40  cents  in  paper. 

**  For  latest  statistics,  consult  current  Reports. 


19 


querors,  the  Spanish  and  Portuguese,  who  enslaved 
them  and  kept  them  in  ignorance.  This  is  the  prac- 
tical condition  of  most  of  them  even  to-day.  Al- 
though slavery  has  been  officially  abolished,  many 
of  the  Indians  are  in  a condition  little  better  than 
that  of  slavery.  Most  of  them  canont  read  or  write. 
In  the  most  advanced  countries  in  South  America, 
such  as  Brazil,  Argentine  and  Chile,  five  people  out 
of  every  ten  cannot  read  or  write  their  own  names. 
In  Ecuador,  Bolivia,  and  Colombia,  at  least  eight 
out  of  every  ten  cannot  read  or  write.  The  upper 
classes  are  the  richest  and  they  hold  most  of  the 
wealth  of  the  land.  It  is  said  that  in  Chile  3 per 
cent,  of  the  people  own  93  per  cent,  of  the  wealth. 

We  shall  want  to  know  more  about  these  neigh- 
bors in  the  various  countries  where  our  Presby- 
terian Church  is  at  work-— why  the  people  are  so 
ignorant,  and  why  we  are  sending  missionaries  to 
South  America.  We  shall  see  when  we  study  more 
particularly  the  conditions  in  which  they  live. 

Next  Sunday  we  shall  visit  our  neighbors  in 
Mexico. 


20 


Mexico 


By  the  map*  we  can  see  that  one  of  the  Latin 
American  countries  is  our  next  door  neighbor. 
Which  one  is  it?  (Draw  reply,  Mexico.)  In  what 
states  of  the  United  States  would  you  have  to  be,  to 
take  just  a step  over  into  Mexico?  (Draw  reply, 
Texas,  New  Mexico,  Arizona,  California.) 

We  all  like  to  know  who  our  neighbors  are,  in 
order  to  be  neighborly.  Our  Mexican  neighbors 
number  about  16,000,000.  Of  these,  a generous  half 
are  Indians,  about  51  per  cent.  About  one  in  ten, 
or  11  per  cent.,  are  pure  Spanish.  The  rest,  or  about 
38  per  cent.,  are  a mixture  of  the  two,  or  Mexicans. 
The  people  are  weavers,  miners,  farmers,  or  manu- 
facturers. They  are  either  very  rich  or  very  poor, 
although  there  is  developing  now  a middle  class. 
The  rich  live  very  elegantly  and  have  their  homes 
furnished  most  luxuriously  and  extravagantly.  It  is 
not  unusual  to  find  twenty  or  thirty  servants  in  one 
of  these  homes.  The  people  of  the  middle  class 
try  to  live  comfortably.  But  we  find  the  great  mass 
of  Mexicans  live  in  grass  or  mud  huts  which  are 
very  miserable  indeed.  Let  us  visit  one  of  these 
needy  homes  for  a minute.  Will  one  of  the  mem- 
bers of  Miss Class  tell  us  what  we 

find  there? 

* Use  the  large  outline  map  of  Latin  America,  size  40x48. 
Price  20  cents  postpaid.  See  Key  Map  at  end  of  book. 


21 


Note:  Some  member  of  the  school  comes  to  the  platform 
and  showing  a picture  of  a Mexican  hut  tells  the  following: 

This  little  hut  is  only  ten  feet  square  and  has  but 
one  room.  There  are  no  windows  and  we  must  bend 
low  to  squeeze  in  at  the  door.  Oh ! how  poor  these  peo- 
ple are!  and  yet  they  are  glad  to  see  us,  and  with  true 
hospitality  invite  us  to  share  their  meal.  Our  eyes 
blink  and  water  from  the  smoke  from  the  miserable  lit- 
tle pile  of  burning  brush  in  the  corner.  Of  course,  there 
is  neither  fireplace  nor  chimney.  The  mother  looks 
tired,  and  she  is,  for  she  works  eight  to  ten  hours  every 
day,  grinding  com  and  kneading  it  and  baking  tortillas. 
(Pronounce  tor-te-yas).  We  would  call  a tortilla  a 
com  cake.  As  we  enter,  the  mother  rises  from  her 
knees,  offers  us  her  wrist,  because  her  hands  are  filled 
with  meal  in  one  of  many  stages.  She  then  hastens  to 
place  her  whole  house  at  our  disposal.  It  is  all  she  has 
-—for  there  are  no  chairs,  no  beds,  no  tables,— but  she 
means  absolutely  that  the  house  is  ours  to  such  an  ex- 
tent that  it  is  not  unusual  for  the  family  to  move  out, 
so  that  the  stranger  may  occupy  the  shelter  for  the 
night,  while  they  lie  out  in  the  open. 


The  Leader  now  resumes. 

You  have  probably  heard  that  the  people  of 
Mexico  are  all  dirty.  That  is  not  true,  although  it  is 
true  that  a great  many  are  very,  very  dirty,  and  the 
reason  is  because  water  is  very,  very  expensive  and 
to  most  people  a real  luxury. 

They  say  the  people  are  very  lazy.  That  is  true 
in  part  also,  but  they  have  never  had  a chance  to 
learn  to  do  anything  but  live  as  slaves. 

They  say  the  people  are  all  bandits.  Let  us  find 
out  the  truth  about  this.  We  must  remember  that 
Mexico  has  a large  Indian  population.  They  can- 
not understand  the  laws  oftentimes,  and  as  it  has 


22 


been  their  custom  for  hundreds  of  years  to  resist  by 
force  what  they  have  thought  was  against  their  in- 
terests, they  still  continue  to  do  so.  When  that 
same  thing  occurs  amongst  the  Indian  population 
of  our  own  country,  we  say  the  Indians  are  on  the 
“War  Path”  again.  But  when  it  occurs  in  Mexico 
we  call  them  bandits ! Then,  too,  there  are  a great 
many  people  who  are  fighting  to  right  wrongs  that 
have  been  endured  for  hundreds  of  years,  and  in  our 
revolution  of  1776  we  called  such  men  patriots,  and 
to-day  we  honor  their  memories;  at  the  same  time 
calling  the  same  class  of  Mexicans,  BANDITS ! It 
is  however  true  that  there  is  a great  class  of  crimi- 
nals, running  at  large,  who  have  banded  themselves 
together  to  fight  law  and  order  of  all  sorts.  These 
are  bandits.  With  our  splendidly  organized  police 
force  in  the  United  States,  it  is  impossible  for  our 
criminals-at-large  to  band  themselves  together,  but 
were  it  possible,  what  a fearful  band  of  outlaws  they 
would  be ! 

They  tell  us  the  Mexicans  are  treacherous.  Some 
may  be,  but  when  Mexicans  come  in  touch  with 
Christ’s  Spirit  they  become  new  men.  Over  and 
over  have  they  been  tried  and  not  found  wanting. 
Our  missionaries  were  ordered  out  of  the  country  in 
1913,  and  left  the  properties  and  their  own  personal 
belongings  in  the  hands  of  the  native  Christians. 
Although  there  were  times  when  money  was  scarce 
and  those  people  went  to  bed  nearly  famished,  they 
never  touched  an  article  belonging  to  the  mission- 
ary, and  when  they  returned  they  found  everything 
intact  and  even  the  pins  in  the  pin-cushions.  Our 


23 


boys  and  girls  from  the  Mission  schools  have  been 
offered  positions  which  would  pay  them  more 
money  than  they  were  receiving  in  Mission  work, 
but  because  they  knew  Jesus  was  counting  on  them, 
they  have  withstood  the  temptations  and  held  their 
positions  in  the  Mission.  When  Jesus  gets  into 
the  heart  He  makes  an  American  boy  dr  girl,  man 
or  woman,  trustworthy,  whether  that  person  lives 
on  this  side  of  the  Rio  Grande  or  the  other. 

And  then  they  say  that  all  Mexicans  hate  the 
United  States.  That  is  absolutely  false.  It  would 
take  too  long  to  prove  that,  but  it  is  the  testimony 
of  all  our  missionaries  that  they  have  never  been 
insulted  Tecause  they  are  American  citizens.  In 
all  these  years  of  revolution,  not  a cent’s  worth  of 
our  property  has  been  wantonly  destroyed.  There 
is  some  unkind  feeling  amongst  the  Mexicans 
toward  some  Americans  residing  in  Mexico,  yes. 
These  are  generally  large  American  promoters  who 
have  received  immense  tracts  of  land,  or  mines  or 
oil-fields  in  return  for  a pittance,  and  have  treated 
the  Mexican  laborer  as  they  would  not  dare  treat 
the  American  laborer.  Rev.  John  Howland,  D.D., 
for  thirty-five  years  a missionary  of  the  American 
Board  in  Mexico,  declares  that  “many  of  the  atroci- 
ties which  have  been  exploited  in  the  American 
press  were  simple  acts  of  vengeance  for  personal 
ill-treatment.”  But  Mexico  as  a whole,  believes  in 
our  sincerity,  boasts  of  our  republican  institutions, 
craving  them  for  herself,  and  wants  our  continued 
friendship.  And  we  dare  not  fail  her  because  of 
her  criminal  subjects,  who  unfortunately  have 


24 


managed  to  band  themselves  together  against  law 
and  order. 

Now  for  our  policy  concerning  Mexico.  While 
thoughtful  men  from  North  and  South  America 
have  been  trying  to  decide  how  best  to  help  Mexico, 
other  thoughtful  men  and  women,  representing 
nearly  all  the  denominations  engaged  in  Mission 
Work,  met  in  1914  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  to  discuss 
the  partitioning  of  the  entire  republic  of  Mexico. 
They  drew  up  a wonderful  policy  that  is  already 
working  in  some  parts.  That  sounds  like  imperial- 
ism* doesn’t  it?  But  these  men  and  women  were 
not  politicians,  who  might  have  selfish  designs  on 
Mexico’s  territory.  Yet  they  dared  to  divide  Mexico 
into  several  parts  and  outline  a policy,  which  might 
be  called  “The  Co-operative  Plan  for  the  Evangeli- 
zation of  Mexico.”  Under  this  plan  our  friends,  the 
Congregationalists,  got  the  North  Western  States, 
the  Baptists  the  North  Central  States,  the  Friends 
and  the  Disciple  Church  the  North  Eastern  States, 
and  the  Methodists  took  the  Central  States,  while 
our  Presbyterian  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  rep- 
resenting us  who  are  here  to-day,  found  in  their 
hands  the  great  Southern  States  of  Mexico,  eight 
States  and  one  Territory. 

So  you  and  T to-day  have  our  share  in  this  work 
and  responsibility  of  leading  and  guiding  nearly 
5,000,000  of  Mexico’s  16,000,000  into  the  paths  of 
Peace  and  Righteousness.  This  is  ours  absolutely 
and  no  nation  on  earth  can  relieve  us  from  it,  and 
furthermore  we  have  pledged  ourselves  to  report  to 
our  King  of  Kings  and  tell  Him  what  we  have  done 


25 


with  this  great  tract  of  land.  Therefore  we  must 
study  its  conditions,  so  we  may  wisely  cultivate  the 
soil  and  plant  the  Seed,  so  that  when  He  comes 
we  shall  have  a rich  harvest  to  cast  at  His  feet. 

By  the  “Co-operative  Plan”  we  have  given  up 
all  our  work  in  the  North  which  we  have  had  for  a 
number  of  years,  and  will  open  up  some  new  sta- 
tions in  the  South.  We  find  there  are  two  large 
cities  where  we  will  be  working,  namely,  Mexico 
City,  the  Capital  of  the  Republic,  and  the  City  of 
Merida  in  the  Peninsula,  which  city  is  the  capital 
of  Yucatan.  For  the  latter  city  we  are  alone  re- 
sponsible; in  the  first  we  share  the  responsibility 
with  all  of  the  other  churches.  Let  us  take  a hur- 
ried survey  of  what  we  find  in  Mexico  City  and 
near  by.  — — — of  Mr.  ___ — ’s  class,  will  tell  us. 

Note:  Some  member  of  the  school  will  now  come  to  the 
platform  and  tell  in  his  own  words  the  following: 

Mexico  City  lies  nestled  in  the  hills,  more  than  a 
mile  above  sea  level  (7,470  feet)  and  with  lofty  moun- 
tains on  all  sides,  Popocatepetl  rising  nearly  10,000  feet 
higher.  It  has  wide  streets  and  beautiful  buildings,  and 
fine  parks.  Our  Presbyterian  mission  work  began  here 
in  1872  and  spread  out  to  both  north  and  south.  We 
have  in  the  city  several  Presbyterian  churches,  and  the 
splendid  Mission  Press,  the  largest  printing  plant  of 
any  Mission  in  all  Latin  America ; also  some  day 
schools.  After  we  have  visited  the  city,  we  take  the 
trolley  car  and  in  half  an  hour  find  ourselves  in  Co-yo- 
a-can,  a suburb  of  the  city.  Here  we  have  our  large 
College  for  boys  and  in  connection  with  it  the  Presby- 
terian Seminary.  Two  miles  further  on  we  find  our- 
selves in  the  beautiful  suburb  of  San  Angel.  Here  is 
our  fine  large  property  used  as  a boarding  school  for 
girls.  A great  majority  of  these  boys  and  girls  are 
very,  very  poor,  and  if  it  were  not  for  our  Presbyterian 
Church  here  in  the  States,  they  would  never  have  had  a 
chance  to  know  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

26 


Leader  resumes. 

The  large  and  very  important  state  of  Vera 
Cruz  is  ours  to  have  and  to  hold  for  the  Lord.  It 
is  east  of  Mexico  City  and  borders  on  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  which  forms  its  eastern  boundary.  We 
hope  to  establish  a station  in  the  port  of  Vera  Cruz 
itself,  and  to  maintain  the  one  we  already  have 
in  Jalapa.*  (Pronounced  Hal-ap-a.) 

As  yet  we  know  very  little  about  the  states  of 
O-ax-aca  and  Chi-ap-as,  which  lie  south  and  south- 
east of  Vera  Cruz  and  border  on  the  Pacific  ocean. 
But  we  are  exploring  there  now.  We  hope  to  have 
large  and  well-built  schools  in  both  these  states. 

This  brings  us  into  the  peninsula.  You  see  it 
here  on  the  map.*  When  we  speak  of  Yucatan  we 
mean  the  whole  of  the  peninsula  which  includes 
three  states  and  one  territory.  Do  you  know  how 
this  part  of  the  country  got  its  name?  It  is  said 
that  when  the  Spaniards  landed  there  about  four 
centuries  ago,  the  natives  exclaimed,  “Ouyoucatan.” 
This  sounded  to  the  Spaniards  like  Yucatan,  so  they 
called  the  country  by  that  name.  As  nearly  as  we 
can  tell,  there  are  about  617,000  people  living  in 
this  peninsula.  They  are  Indians,  called  Mayas; 
white  people  who  are  Spaniards;  and  Mestizas,  a 
mixture  of  the  two;  but  just  as  all  folks  who  live  in 
Pennsylvania  are  called  Pennsylvanians  so  all 
these  people  who  live  here  are  called  Yucatecans. 
Until  very  recently,  they  were  either  very,  very 
rich;  or  very,  very  poor.  They  either  owned  the 
henniquin  farms  or  they  worked  like  slaves  on 
them  for  some  one  else.  The  hennequin  is  what  is 

* Locate  these  on  the  outline  wall  map.  See  Key  Map  at  end 
of  book. 


27 


used  to  make  twine,  and  Yucatan  furnishes  nearly 
all  that  is  used  in  the  western  hemisphere. 

Now,  since  the  workman  is  being  better  paid,  he 
doesn’t  know  what  to  do  with  his  money, -—he 
doesn’t  know  how  to  spend  it  nor  how  to  save  it; 
and  the  consequence  is,  he  squanders  it  and  his  life 
along  with  it.  We  must  hurry  in  there  with  our 
schools  and  teach  him  how  to  live,  how  to  learn, 
how  to  have  a good  time  in  the  right  way.  To  do 
this,  we  must  give  him  just  the  things  that  we 
have  had : — the  Sunday  School  and  the  Church,  the 
Bible  and  the  Lord  Jesus. 

In  order  that  he  may  learn  to  read  and  think, 
we  must  give  him  the  chance  for  an  education  with 
Christian  surroundings,  and  to-day  you  can  not 
find  that  in  any  corner  of  the  peninsula  of  Yuca- 
tan. There  are  only  a few  Sunday  Schools  and  in 
these  the  preacher  doesn’t  have  time  to  teach  read- 
ing and  the  consequence  is,  hardly  anybody  can 
read.  And  then  too  there  isn’t  any  money  to  buy 
charts  nor  graded  lessons  nor  quarterlies  nor  pic- 
tures nor  even  song  books,  and  only  four  or  five  out 
of  less  than  twenty  Sunday  Schools  have  tiny 
organs;  the  others  have  no  instruments  at  all.  Yet 
the  people  come  and  come,  and  listen  and  listen  to 
the  wonderful  story  of  Jesus’  love,  and  they  wish 
with  an  unutterable  longing  to  know  more  about 
Him.  Listen  to  the  story,  “A  Mexican  Woman’s 
Lament,”*  as  related  by  Miss  Bonine,  one  of  our 
missionaries  in  Mexico.  will  tell  us. 

* See  “Latin  American  Stories,”  compiled  by  George  H.  Trull. 

28 


Leader  resumes. 

And  how  these  people  have  begged  for  a school 
where  they  might  be  able  to  send  their  sons  and 
their  daughters,  that  the  boys  might  be  taught  car- 
pentry, masonry,  etc.,  and  the  girls  may  learn  to 
cook  and  sew  and  know  how  to  wash  and  iron ! The 
richer  people,  too,  are  begging  for  our  Christian 
schools  where  their  girls  can  learn  how  to  direct 
their  own  households,  for  the  present  mothers  do 
not  know.  One  mother,  with  tears  in  her  voice 
said  to  Miss  Bonine,  “Senorita,  open  a school  quick- 
ly where  my  little  daughter  may  come  in  contact 
with  something  else  besides  black,  black  sin.” 

Merida  is  the  principal  city  of  the  Peninsula. 
It  has  about  70,000  inhabitants.  The  streets  are 
very  wide ; that  is,  compared  with  the  streets  in 
other  cities  in  Mexico ; and  they  are  kept  very  clean. 
During  the  troublous  times  of  Carranza’s  rule,  there 
was  but  one  church  open  in  all  the  city,  and  that 
was  the  Presbyterian  church.  All  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic churches  were  closed  by  the  government  be- 
cause of  their  politcal  activity. 

“In  one  state  capital,  a Catholic  church  was 
taken  over  for  a Masonic  Temple,  and  another  was 
converted  into  a hall  for  the  meetings  of  the  state 
congress.  The  keys  of  other  churches  were  in  the 
hands  of  governmental  authorities.  The  outstand- 
ing fact  that  accounts  for  all  this  is  that  the  Catho- 
lic Church  had  aligned  itself  with  the  Huerta  gov- 
ernment and  had  given  millions  of  its  treasure 
towards  its  success.  * * * It  seems  that  it  may  be 
a long  time  before  the  Catholic  Church  comes  into 


29 


favor.  In  fact  there  seems  to  be  no  way  for  it  to 
come  into  the  public  favor  that  it  has  long  been 
losing,  except  to  apply  itself,  as  it  has  not  in  the 
past,  to  religious  and  social  betterment  of  the  con- 
ditions of  the  people.”* 

Our  church  is  a little  bit  of  a building,  and  when 
Sunday  School  is  in  session,  half  the  children  sit  on 
the  floor  because  there  are  not  chairs  enough.  And 
then  they  stay  for  the  Church  service  and  either 
stand  or  sit  on  the  floor  again,  for  in  Mexico  all 
the  Sunday  School  children  stay  and  go  to  Church 
and  put  up  with  all  kinds  of  inconveniences,  be- 
cause they  want  to  hear  about  this  Jesus  who  not 
only  died  upon  the  cross,  but  rose  again  to  give 
them  an  eternal  Home  with  Him.  If  you  could  see 
their  faces  as  you  talk  to  them,  every  Sunday 
School  in  the  land  would  have  at  least  one  mission- 
ary who  would  volunteer  to  go  down  into  Mexico 
as  a soldier  of  the  King. 

It  is  planned  to  build  a school  for  girls  in 
Merida.  In  it  we  are  going  to  train  teachers,  and 
then  we  will  put  them  into  our  own  mission  schools 
throughout  the  states  of  the  peninsula,  or  secure 
positions  for  them  with  the  government  where  they 
will  teach  by  their  beautiful  Christian  lives  the  love 
of  the  Living  Christ.  One  Yucatecan  gentleman 
said  to  Miss  Bonine,  about  the  girls’  school  to  be 
built:  “My  daughter  is  enrolled  now,  you  must 
keep  a place  for  her,  but  when  shall  we  hope  for  a 
similar  chance  for  our  sons?”  That  question  I 

* Rev.  Charles  Petran  quoted  in  leaflet  “Opening  Doors  in 
Latin  America,”  p.  26. 


30 


leave  with  the  boys  of  the  Sabbath  Schools  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church.  When  shall  it  be?  When  too, 
shall  we  have  sufficient  volunteers  not  to  fight  Mex- 
ico, but  to  uplift  her  by  schools  and  churches?  In 
June,  1916,  in  response  to  the  call  of  President  Wil- 
son, more'  than  one  hundred  thousand  men  went 
down  to  the  Mexican  border  to  fight  the  Mexicans 
if  need  be.  How  many  volunteers  will  there  be  to 
cross  the  Mexican  border,  not  with  guns  and  bayo- 
nets in  their  hands,  but  with  a burning  love  for 
Christ  in  their  hearts  and  a passionate  desire  to 
uplift  Mexico  by  the  gospel? 


Guatemala 


Just  south  of  our  Mexican  neighbors  in  Central 
America  lies  the  little  country  of  Guatemala.  It  is 
about  900  to  1,000  miles  north  of  the  equator,  so 
you  will  need  your  summer  clothes  if  you  are  going 
for  a visit.  Better  put  some  warmer  clothes  in 
your  trunk,  too,  because  you  will  not  want  to  spend 
all  of  your  time  on  the  hot  sea  coast,  but  you  will 
want  to  go  up  from  the  port  of  San  Jose  60  miles 
to  Guatemala  City,  the  capital  of  the  country,  which 
is  at  an  elevation  of  several  thousand  feet.  Here 
you  will  want  to  sleep  under  blankets  at  night.  The 
days  are  much  like  June  in  Central  New  York. 

If  you  have  ever  been  in  the  mountains,  you 
know  that  the  higher  up  you  go,  the  cooler  it  gets. 
Some  very  high  mountains  have  snow  on  them  all 
the  year.  Climate  depends  then  not  only  on  lati- 
tude but  also  on  altitude.  One  mile  high  at  the 
equator  is  the  same  temperature  as  1,000  miles 
away  from  the  equator  at  sea  level. 

Guatemala’s  mountains  lie  back  about  thirty  miles 
from  the  Pacific  coast,  and  many  of  them  are  either 
active  or  extinct  volcanoes.  One  of  these  volcanoes, 
Santa  Maria  (10,535  feet  high),  in  1902  nearly 
ruined  the  city  of  Quez-al-te-nan-go,  but  it  has  been 
rebuilt  since. 

“In  former  times  the  natives  are  said  to  have 
cast  living  maidens  into  the  craters  of  the  volca- 


33 


noes  to  appease  the  spirits  or  gods  who  were  sup- 
posed to  be  angry.  Later,  after  Christianity  was 
introduced,  the  priests  held  masses  and  the  people 
formed  processions  to  calm  the  angry  mountains, 
until  finally  the  happy  thought  struck  the  priests 
of  baptizing  the  volcanoes  and  formally  receiving 
them  into  the  church  in  order  to  make  them  good. 
This  was  finally  done,  but  the  'goodness’  did  not 
last,  for  even  Santa  Maria,  supposed  to  be  one  of 
the  ‘saintliest,’  went  back  to  her  old  tricks,  and  her 
fall  from  grace  was  more  disastrous  than  any  of  the 
other  recorded  instances  of  her  uncertain  disposi- 
tion.”* 

During  the  destruction  wrought  at  Quezalte- 
nago  by  the  eruption  of  Santa  Maria  one  of  our 
present  Guatemalan  workers  was  away  from  home. 
He  was  at  that  time  not  a Christian,  but  a thought- 
less, careless  and  godless  man,  more  interested  in 
gambling  than  in  anything  else.  He  was,  however, 
a father  and  loved  dearly  his  little  baby  girl.  When 
the  city  began  to  shake  and  crumble,  he  thought  of 
his  home  and  child.  He  rushed  back  as  quickly  as 
he  could,  only  to  find  that  his  home  was  in  the  dis- 
trict apparently  destroyed.  Pushing  forward  he 
discovered  that  while  the  roof  and  much  of  the 
walls  had  been  thrown  down,  the  floor  of  a room  in 
the  second  story  had  been  untouched  and  that  his 
little  child  was  asleep  in  her  cradle.  The  saving  of 
this  little  child  so  touched  him  that  he  determined 
to  give  up  his  evil  ways.  He  became  a Christian 

* Quoted  from  pages  5 and  6 of  “Guatemala  and  Her  People 
of  To-day,”  by  Nevin  O.  Winter. 


34 


and  is  now  one  of  the  best  workers  we  have  in  our 
Mission. 

Guatemala  is  a little  smaller  than  Illinois,  has 
48,290  square  miles,  and  a population  slightly  less 
than  that  of  Chicago,  which  in  1915  was  2,447,875. 
Guatemala’s  in  1915  was  2,003,  579-  More  than  half 
the  Guatemalens  are  pure-blooded  Indians,  speak- 
ing 36  different  languages  and  dialects.  Only  about 
one  in  ten  can  read  or  write  and  perhaps  one  in  five 
of  them  understand  Spanish.  While  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church  claims  most  of  these  Indians  as 
Catholics,  the  old  pagan  sun  worship  still  exists 
among  them,  and  the  witch  doctor  is  a familiar  fig- 
ure. They  have  altars  on  high  places  where  they 
offer  fowls  as  sacrifices.  “Their  god  is  the  god  of 
thunder  and  the  rain,  the  god  of  wrath  and  judg- 
ment.”* They  will  go  to  the  Catholic  churches  and 
there  kneel  before  the  images,  “and  then  go  and 
consult  their  old  wizards  and  follow  whatever  his 
instructions  may  be.  The  old  and  the  new  supersti- 
tions are  wofully  confused  in  their  minds,  but  they 
want  to  be  on  the  safe  side  by  following  both.”t 

Some  of  you  are  fond  of  history  in  school.  I 
am  sorry  to  tell  you  that  all  the  ancient  records  of 
the  early  history  of  Guatemala  before  the  coming 
of  the  Spaniards  in  1523  were  destroyed  by  the  con- 
querors. We  know  this  much,  however,  that  in  the 
early  days,  as  in  Mexico,  there  was  a high  state  of 
civilization.  Columbus  discovered  the  Guatemalan 
coast  in  1502.  It  was  one  of  the  soldiers  of  Cortez, 

* “Opening  Doors  in  Latin  America,”  p.  6. 

t “Guatemala  and  Her  People  of  To-day,”  by  Neyin  O. 
Winter.  Pages  207-208. 


35 


Pedro  de  Alvarado,  who  in  1523  invaded  Guate- 
mala from  Mexico  and  with  great  cruelty  conquered 
the  Indians.  From  then  until  1821,  or  nearly  300 
years,  Guatemala  was  under  the  control  of  Spain. 
In  1821  the  Spanish  yoke  was  thrown  off,  and  in 
1823  Guatemala  became  a part  of  the  Central 
American  Federal  Republic.  In  1847,  she  declared 
her  independence  “as  the  Republic  of  Guatemala  in- 
stead of  a state  within  the  confederation,  by  which 
designation  it  had  formerly  been  known,  although 
the  confederation  had  been  practically  dissolved 
many  years  before.”* 

Suppose  we  put  these  dates  on  the  blackboard 
where  we  can  see  them  and  thus  fix  them  in  our 
memories. 


GUATEMALA 

1502 — Discovered  by  Columbus 

1523—  Invaded  by  Alvarado 

1524- 1821 — A Spanish  Colony 

1821 —  Revolution 

1822 —  National  Congress  convened 

1823— 1847 — A part  of  Central  American 

Federal  Republic. 

1847 — Independent  Republic 


Two  other  dates  of  great  interest  to  us  are  1873 
and  1882.  In  1873  religious  liberty  was  granted.  In 
1882  our  Presbyterian  Board  of  Foreign  Missions 
was  asked  by  President  Barrios,  who  was  dissatis- 

* Quoted  from  page  187  of  “Guatemala  and  Her  People  of 
To-day,”  by  Nevin  O.  Winter. 


36 


fied  with  the  dominant  church  in  the  country,  to 
open  a Mission  in  Guatemala  City,  the  capital. 
The  Guatemala  Mission  is  the  only  one  in 
Latin  America  which  was  started  at  the  re- 
quest of  those  in  authority  in  the  Republic.  To 
show  his  interest,  the  President  paid  the  trav- 
eling expenses  of  the  first  missionaries,  Rev. 
and  Mrs.  John  C.  Hill,  provided  them  with  a place 
to  live,  and  sent  his  own  children  to  the  Mission 
School  which  was  established.  Work  was  carried 
on  among  the  English  speaking  people  and  also 
among  the  Spanish.  Before  1882,  there  was  not  a 
Protestant  congregation  in  all  Guatemala,  in  fact, 
not  one  Protestant  believer.  In  1884  a school  for 
girls  was  opened,  continued  for  seven  years,  and  was 
then  given  up,  as  no  proper  building  could  be  se- 
cured. In  1913  another  school  for  girls  was  opened 
in  a fine  new  building.  In  the  same  year  a hospital 
was  opened  and  since  then  a training  school  for 
nurses.  Thirteen  different  nationalities  were  treated 
in  our  hospital  last  year.*  We  also  have  in  the  capi- 
tal a well-equipped  Mission  press  which  turned  out 
last  year*  about  two  million  pages  of  literature. 
We  have  two  churches  and  31  groups  of  believers.* 
Our  new  church  building  in  the  city  seats  500  peo- 
ple. Every  Sunday  there  are  three  preaching  serv- 
ices in  Spanish  and  one  in  English  besides  the  Sun- 
day School. 

In  1898,  our  second  Station  was  opened  in  Quez- 
al-te-nan-go.  Here  is  where  it  is  located  on  the 

* These  figures  are  for  the  year  ending  March  31,  1916.  For 
later  statistics  consult  current  reports. 


37 


map,t  125  miles  northwest  from  Guatemala  City.  It 
is  a long  name  for  a city,  isn’t  it?  and  rather  hard 
for  us  to  pronounce.  In  English  it  means — Green- 
feather-town.  It  is  high  up  in  a valley  in  the  moun- 
tains, 9,000  feet  above  the  sea.  It  is  in  the  coffee 
district  and  is  a prosperous  town  of  about  20,000. 
Last  year,*  our  missionary  in  Green-feather-town, 
Mr.  Burgess,  preached  191  times,  twice  in  English, 
five  times  in  German,  14  times  in  Quichua  through 
an  interpreter  to  the  Indians,  and  170  times  in  Span- 
ish. Sixty-nine  persons  were  received  into  the 
church  which  now  has  a membership  of  262,*  and 
275 * are  in  the  Sunday  School.  There  is  one  central 
church  in  the  town  and  sixteen  groups  of  believers  in 
the  district.  The  gifts  to  the  church  have  increased 
from  1,930  to  5,550  pesos.  This  sounds  encouraging, 
doesn't  it  ? Particularly  so  when  we  remember  that 
when  it  was  proposed  in  1912  to  erect  a new  church 
building  in  Green-feather-town,  there  wasn’t  a con- 
tractor who  would  take  the  job  of  building  a Prot- 
estant church.  The  work  had  to  be  performed  by 
day  labor  under  the  direction  of  our  missionaries. 
The  stone  and  lumber  were  bought  from  Indians 
and  were  brought  in  from  the  mountains,  either  on 
the  backs  of  donkeys  or  of  Indians,  a distance  of  15 
miles. 

It  is  a common  sight  to  see  men  and  boys  carry- 
ing in  racks  on  their  backs,  trunks,  bureaus,  ward- 
robes and  every  other  kind  of  load. 

What  is  that  coming  down  the  road?  Is  it  a hay 

t Use  the  Outline  Latin  American  Wall  Map.  Price  20  cents 
postpaid.  See  Key  Map  at  end  of  book. 

* Statistics  for  1916.  For  later  ones,  consult  current  Reports. 

33 


wagon?  As  it  gets  nearer  we  see  an  enormous  load 
of  hay,  not  on  a wagon  but  balanced  on  a man’s 
back.  The  women,  too,  carry  loads  on  their  heads, 
anything  from  a small  bundle  to  a basket  a yard 
across  and  filled  with  plants.  Then,  in  addition,  you 
will  often  see  them  with  a baby  strapped  on  their 
backs.  The  people  of  Guatemala  are  burden  bearers. 
Many  of  them  carry  loads  that  the  strongest  boy 
here  could  not  lift. 

Did  you  ever  hear  of  people  carrying  other  than 
physical  burdens?  Sometimes  you  see  people  go- 
ing down  the  stret,  not  with  any  heavy  load  on  their 
backs,  but  with  worried  faces  and  wrinkled  brows. 
What  sort  of  burden  do  you  think  they  are  carry- 
ing? 

(Draw  out  reply:  The  burdens  of  care  and  of 
sin  upon  the  mind  and  heart.) 

Most  of  the  people  in  Guatemala  are  carrying 
these  burdens,  whether  they  have  any  other  loads 
on  their  backs  or  not.  Do  you  remember  anything 
Jesus  said  once  about  people  who  had  heavy  bur- 
dens? If  you  don’t  recall  it,  whoever  can  first  find 
Matthew,  chapter  eleven,  verse  twenty-eight,  may 
read  it  for  us. 

This  invitation  of  Jesus  to  come  to  him  and  find 
rest,  thousands  of  people  in  Guatemala  know  noth- 
ing about.  Instead  of  being  told  about  Jesus,  they 
have  been  taught  to  worship  the  Virgin  Mary.  Be- 
side the  door  of  one  of  the  Catholic  churches  in 
Cuzco,  Peru,  this  verse  of  Matthew  has  been 
changed  in  Spanish,  to  read,  “Come  to  Mary  all 
you  who  are  laden  with  works,  and  weary  beneath 


39 


the  weight  of  your  sins,  and  she  will  help  you.”* 
This  is  just  a sample  of  how  the  Catholic  Church 
changes  the  teaching  of  the  Scripture. 

It  is  a custom  among  many  of  the  people,  when 
a little  child  dies,  to  have  brought  to  their  homes  a 
large  statue  of  the  Virgin  Mary.  In  the  arms  of  the 
image  is  placed  the  lifeless  body  of  the  child,  where 
it  is  kept  until  the  day  of  burial.  In  the  meantime 
many  prayers  are  offered  to  Mary  for  the  baby’s 
soul.  Though  this  church  held  sway  in  Guate- 
mala for  three  hundred  years  and  more  before  re- 
ligious liberty  was  declared,  it  has  done  but  little 
to  uplift  the  people.  Three  out  of  four  cannot  even 
read  or  write. 

Bancroft,  the  historian,  speaking  of  the  thirty 
years  when  the  Clerical  party  was  in  power,  preced- 
ing the  presidency  of  President  Barrios,  says  “that 
the  result  of  thirty  years  of  conservative  rule  was 
two  hundred  lazy  and  stupid  monks,  two  hundred 
almost  useless  nuns,  one  archbishop,  two  bishops, 
fifteen  vicars  and  canons,  a foreign  debt  of  five  mil- 
lion dollars.  There  were  no  schools,  roads,  bridges 
or  telegraphs.  The  postal  facilities  were  inade- 
quate, and  immense  tracts  of  unproductive  land 
owned  by  the  church  brought  no  revenue  for  the 
support  of  the  government.”! 

There  is  considerable  fanaticsm  and  persecution 
of  Protestants  even  to-day  in  Guatemala.  Mrs.  W. 
B.  Allison  of  Guatemala  City  tells  the  story  of  Don 

* Latin  America,  The  Land,  The  People,  The  Problems.  W. 
E.  Browning,  p.  21. 

t Quoted  from  “Guatemala  and  Her  People  of  To-day,”  by 
Nevin  O.  Winter,  page  189. 


40 


Remigio  the  Persecuted,  who  later  became  Mayor. 
will  give  us  the  story. 

Note:  Some  member  of  the  school  will  now  come  forward 
and  tell  the  following: 

“Just  after  we  came  here,  Don  Remigio,  one  of  the 
members  of  our  church,  moved  with  his  family  to 
Santo  Domingo,  a little  village  down  in  the  coast 
country.  When  the  people  there  found  that  he  did 
not  join  with  them  in  their  idolatrous  worship  and 
processions  they  persecuted  him  and  his  family  unmer- 
cifully. They  even  tried  to  kill  him  in  his  bed  while 
he  slept.  Through  it  all  he  stood  firm  in  his  faith  and 
by  his  exemplary  daily  life  he  won  the  confidence  and 
respect  of  the  people  of  the  village.  Now  there  is 
quite  a company  of  earnest  believers  in  Christ  in  that 
village,  and  an  organized  church.  The  members  are 
already  doing  good  home  missionary  work  and  many 
of  the  villages  near  there  are  anxiously  waiting  a 
visit  from  a missionary.  Of  late  Don  Remigio  has 
been  made  Mayor  of  the  town,  and  now  that  the 
church  is  nearing  completion  the  people  are  coming 
in  great  numbers  to  the  meetings.” 

Leader  now  resumes. 

About  thirty  years  ago  there  was  only  one  cen- 
ter for  our  work  in  Guatemala  and  three  native 
Christians.  To-day  you  can  travel  by  mule  back 
clear  across  the  country  from  north  to  south  or 
from  east  to  west,  and  stop  every  night  at  a place 
where  the  pure  gospel  truth  is  preached.  Many  of 
the  people  are  losing  faith  in  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church.  You  would  be  interested  in  hearing  a trav- 
eler’s recent  report : 

Note:  Someone  before  appointed,  now  comes  to  the  platform 
and  tells  in  his  own  words  the  following: — 

“I  found  but  two  churches  where  there  were  any 
attempts  at  improvement  in  church  structures,  and  with 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church  this  is  an  infallible  sign. 
Wherever  she  is  alive  she  is  building.  But  all  over  the 


41 


country  are  churches  falling  into  decay  from  neglect, 
others  injured  by  earthquakes,  some  more  and  some 
less,  but  no  effort  being  made  to  repair  them,  and  sel- 
dom visited  by  a priest,  and  very  scantily  attended. 
Churches  that  twenty-five  years  ago  were  well  attended 
and  well  stocked  with  nicely  clothed  wooden  saints 
are  now  almost  abandoned,  and  we  saw  one  with  nearly 
all  the  saints  stripped  and  huddled  in  a corner  and 
covered  with  dust,  where  a family  of  screech  owls  had 
appropriated  the  niche  back  of  the  main  altar.  While 
the  people  are  nominally  Roman  Catholic,  they  are  far 
from  being  as  Roman  Catholic  as  they  were  twenty 
years  ago,  or  even  ten.  It  seems  to  be  the  blind  work- 
ing out  of  their  natural  religious  instinct  in  the  only 
religious  form  they  know.  The  duty  of  Protestant 
Christendom  in  this  connection  is  obvious.”* 

Leader  resumes. 

Yes,  our  duty  is  clear.  The  chief  responsibility 
for  evangelizing  Guatemala  rests  with  the  Presby- 
terian Church.  A generous  Presbyterian  elder  in 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  has  recently  greatly  increased  the 
equipment  of  our  plant  at  Guatemala  City.  The 
outlook  is  brighter  now  than  ever.  In  the  past,  be- 
cause of  lack  of  funds  and  of  workers,  we  have  had 
to  withdraw  from  fields  that  promised  great  fruit- 
fulness. This  is  not  good  missionary  strategy. 
Rather  should  we  strengthen  the  hands  of  our  mis- 
sionaries, provide  them  with  funds,  equipment  and 
reinforcements  as  from  the  front  they  report  to  us 
their  needs. 

* Quoted  on  p.  12  of  “Guatemala,  the  Land  of  the  Burden 
Bearers.”  75th  Anniversary  Series. 


42 


Colombia 


As  you  look  at  the  map,  who  can  tell  me  which 
one  of  the  countries  in  South  America  is  nearest 
the  United  States?  (Draw  out  answer,  Colombia.) 

Yes,  you  will  notice  that  a small  section  of  it  is 
the  northernmost  coast  of  South  America.  As  you 
look  again  at  the  map,  you  see  that  Colombia  lies 
within  the  tropics,  and  naturaly  you  expect  it  to  be 
very  hot.  It  is  warm  along  the  sea  coast,  but  up  in 
the  mountains  it  is  cool.  It  is  a land  of  volcanoes 
which  frequently  burst  forth,  and  a land  of  earth- 
quakes. Although  nature  is  active  the  people  are 
not.  They  are  among  the  most  backward  of  all 
in  South  America. 

It  is  not  very  much  to  our  credit  that  our  near- 
est South  American  neighbors  are  so  lacking.  What 
do  you  think  it  indicates?  (Draw  out  among  other 
replies,  Neglect  on  our  part.) 

Some  years  ago,  some  of  you  older  folks  will 
remember  there  was  a great  rush  of  men  from  all 
over  the  United  States  to  the  Klondike  in  Alaska. 
Why  did  they  go?  (Draw  out  reply,  Gold  had  been 
discovered.) 

Do  you  suppose  that  if  to-morrow  morning  your 
newspapers  should  tell  that  gold  had  been  discov- 
ered within  five  miles  of  this  town,  any  folks  would 
hurry  out  there  to  see  if  it  were  so?  (Doubtless 
they  would.) 


43 


Gold,  somehow  or  other,  has  generally  proved 
attractive  to  most  people.  In  fact,  I suppose  if 
somebody  here  to-day  should  offer  a five-dollar 
gold  piece  to  the  boy  who  would  be  the  first  to 
reach  this  platform,  there  would  be  something  of  a 
rush  right  here. 

Well,  once  upon  a time  Colombia  was  known  as 
“El-dorado,”  which  in  Spanish  means  “the  golden,” 
because  far  off  in  its  mountains  gold  had  been  found 
in  large  quantities,  and  a story  had  been  passed 
down  from  one  tribe  of  Indians  to  another,  until 
finally  it  reached  the  coast,  the  story  of  the  Golden 
Man.  Would  you  like  to  hear  it?  All  right,  then 
we  shall  ask  to  tell  us. 


Note:  Someone  before  appointed  now  comes  forward  and 
relates  in  bis  own  words  the  following  story : 


Some  years  ago,  before  Columbus  discovered 
either  North  or  South  America,  there  lived  in  the 
mountains  of  Colombia  a tribe  of  Indians  known  as 
Guatavitas  (Gwa-ta-ve-tas).  Close  by  their  village 
was  a beautiful  mountain  lake,  into  which  the  wife  of 
a chief  of  the  tribe  had  thrown  herself  to  escape  pun- 
ishment. She  had  thus  become  the  goddess  of  the  lake 
and  the  people  believed  she  had  the  power  to  make  them 
victorious  over  their  foes.  It  became  a custom  when- 
ever a new  chief  was  chosen  to  honor  the  goddess  in 
the  following  manner : A procession  was . formed  of 
the  people  bringing  gifts  of  gold  and  precious  stones. 
Among  them  was  the  new  chief  covered  with  sweet 
smelling  gums,  over  which  gold  dust  had  been 
sprinkled,  so  that  he  shone  and  sparkled  in  the  sun  as 
a man  with  golden  raiment.  When  the  procession 
reached  the  lake,  the  new  chief  and  some  of  his  nobles 
entered  a canoe  and  paddled  out  to  the  middle  of  the 
lake.  Then  the  chief  jumped  in,  washing  the  gold  dust 
from  his  body  as  an  offering  to  the  goddess  of  the 
lake,  and  all  the  people  cast  in  their  gifts  of  gold  and 
of  precious  stones.  Then  they  returned  to  the  village 


44 


where  there  was  feasting  and  rejoicing  for  the  rest  of 
the  day.”* 

Leader  now  resumes. 

This  custom  prevailed  among  the  Guatavita 
Indians  for  a number  of  years,  down  until  1490. 
When  the  Spanish  conquerors  landed  some  years 
later,  they  heard  this  story  of  the  gilded  chief  or 
golden  man,  and  they  were  eager  to  visit  his  land  in 
the  hope  of  getting  great  wealth  for  themselves, 
just  as  years  afterward  men  from  the  United  States 
went  to  the  Klondike.  Their  imaginations  pictured 
a great  palace  of  gold  with  pillars  of  gems. 

Quesada  (Ka-sa-da)  was  the  name  of  one  of  the 
Spanish  generals  who  explored  the  mountains  of 
Colombia  in  his  search  for  gold.  In  1538  he  had 
reached  the  great  high  plateau,  five  hundred  miles  in 
from  the  coast,  where  he  founded  the  city  of 
Bogota.  The  Spanish  spoke  of  the  golden  man  as 
“El  hombre  dorado’'  and  his  land  as  “El  dorado,” 
that  is,  “the  golden.”  And  so  in  English  to-day  we 
speak  of  Eldorado,  meaning  a place  of  fabulous 
wealth.  This  is  really  the  origin  of  the  term. 

Quesada  had  in  reality  reached  Eldorado  though 
he  did  not  know  it.  No  longer,  however,  was  the 
custom  of  the  gilded  chief’s  offering  to  the  goddess 
observed,  after  the  Guativita  Indians  were  con- 
quered by  their  enemies,  the  Muyscas  of  Bogota. 

Do  any  of  you  know  why  so  many  men  perished 
on  their  way  to  the  Klondike?  (Draw  out  reply, 
The  difficulty  of  the  trip.) 


* Condensed  from  “The  Land  of  the  Golden  Man,”  by  Anita 
H.  Ferris. 


45 


Exactly.  Was  there  any  railroad  in  the  Klon- 
dike then?  (Draw  out  reply,  No.) 

Neither  was  there  any  railroad  in  1538  in  Colom- 
bia when  Ouesada  arrived  in  Bogota.  But  there  is 
a railroad  into  the  Klondike  to-day  running  from 
Skagway  to  White  Horse,  112  miles,  and  it  was 
only  in  1898  that  gold  was  discovered  there.  There 
are  in  addition  307*  miles  of  railway  operated  in 
other  parts  of  Alaska.  Down  in  Colombia,  how- 
ever, if  you  want  to  go  to  Bogota,  five  hundred 
miles  from  the  coast,  it  is  a journey  of  several 
stages ; first,  one  of  eight  days  by  river  steamer 
from  Barranquilla,  then  a six-hour  rail  journey  to 
the  point  where  one  takes  steamer  again  on  the 
upper  Magdalena  River.  Then  another  train  is  taken 
for  the  climb  up  the  mountains  to  Bogota,  8,600 
feet  above  the  sea  and  ten  hours  distant — the  whole 
journey  from  coast  to  capital  taking  eleven  days, 
counting  in  the  time  for  stops  and  connections.  In 
all  Colombia  with  an  area  about  equal  to  Minne- 
sota, North  and  South  Dakota,  Iowa,  Nebraska  and 
Kansas  combined,  there  are  to-day*  just  708  miles 
of  railroad. 

What  connection  is  there  between  a railroad  and 
progress?  (Draw  out  the  idea  that  when  people 
have  no  means  of  communication  with  each  other 
and  the  outside  world,  they  lapse  into  ignorance.) 

Yes,  we  often  use  as  an  illustration  of  a pecu- 
liarly backward  person,  one  who  lives  way  off  from 
a railroad,  or  who  has  never  or  seldom  seen  one. 
The  progress  of  a nation  depends  on  its  means  of 

* According  to  Statesman’s  Year  Book  of  1916. 

46 


communication.  A country  with  good  highways 
and  good  railroads  is  a progressive  country  keep- 
ing in  touch  with  the  world.  It  is  just  here  that 
Colombia  has  failed.  Most  of  the  roads  of  the 
country  are  just  mule  tracks,  though  on  a few 
roads  automobiles  can  travel. 

Think  of  a country  with  about  450,000  square 
miles,  four  times  the  size  of  California,  rich  in  gold, 
silver  and  emeralds,  rich  in  grain  and  fruits  and 
timber,  and  yet  with  only  708  miles  of  railroad.  “In 
1911  the  merchant  shipping  of  Colombia  consisted 
of  one  steamer  of  457  tons  and  four  sailing  vessels 
of  1,121  tons.”*  Chile  which  is  only  about  two- 
thirds  the  size  of  Colombia  and  with  a smaller  pop- 
ulation, and  farther  away  from  the  great  markets  of 
the  world,  has  a foreign  trade  nearly  four  and  one- 
half  times  that  of  Colombia.* 

With  all  its  wealth  of  gold  and  silver,  Colombia 
is  a country  where  the  people  are  miserably  poor. 
Beggars  are  on  every  hand.  At  one  time  or  other, 
all  of  you  have  seen  men  working  on  the  roads  or 
digging  trenches  for  pipes  in  the  city  streets.  In 
Colombia  women  work  on  the  highway  with  pick 
and  shovel,  and  others  as  porters  and  as  butchers. 
It  is  not  uncommon  to  see  a woman  with  a week- 
old  baby  on  her  bosom,  staggering  along  under  a 
sack  of  coffee  weighing  150  pounds. 

If  I should  ask  all  in  this  audience  over  ten 
years  of  age  who  can  read  or  write  to  hold  up  their 
hands,  every  hand  would  go  up.  But  not  so  in  an 
average  audience  in  Colombia,  for  three  people  out 

* Statesman’s  Year  Book  for  1916. 


47 


of  every  four  in  the  republic  can  neither  read  nor 
write. 

Dont’  they  have  schools,  you  ask?  Yes,  but 
nine-tenths  of  the  children  never  go  to  them.  Then, 
too,  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  has  complete  con- 
trol of  all  public  schools.  The  Archbishop  of 
Bogota  says  what  books  on  religion  and  morals  shall 
be  used.  It  is  not  allowed  to  teach  ideas  in  litera- 
ture and  science  that  are  in  any  wise  contrary  to 
the  beliefs  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.* 

Colombia  is  the  country  of  South  America 
where  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  has  had  fullest 
sway  for  centuries.  The  Inquisition,  a court  to  try 
people  supposed  to  disagree  with  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic Church,  was  there  and  condemned  four  hun- 
dred thousand^  people  to  death.  This  is  a greater 
number  of  people  than  in  1910  lived  in  any  one  of 
these  states,  Idaho,  Montana,  New  Mexico,  Utah  or 
Vermont,  and  about  twice  as  many  as  in  1910  lived 
in  either  Arizona  or  Delaware.  While  this  court  no 
longer  exists,  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  is  still 
bitterly  opposed  to  all  Protestants.  A letter  sent 
out  by  the  Archbishop  of  Bogota  in  1909,  to  be  read 
in  all  the  churches,  warned  against  Protestants  and 
our  Presbyterian  schools  in  particular. 

Note:  If  desired,  some  senior  or  adult  member  of  the  school 
may  at  this  point  be  asked  to  read  the  letter  or  in  his  own  words 
to  give  extracts  from  it. 

“No  Catholic  may,  without  rendering  himself 
liable  to  mortal  sin,  and  without  incurring  the  other 
penalties  imposed  by  the  Church,  send  his  sons  or 

* See  “South  American  Problems,”  by  Speer,  p.  99. 

f Ibid,  p.  63. 


48 


daughters  or  dependents  to  or  himself  attend  person- 
ally any  of  the  institutions  or  schools  founded  in  this 
city  and  known  as  the  American  School  for  Boys  as 
well  as  that  for  Girls;  nor  may  he  give  aid  or  favor 
to  the  aforesaid  educational  plants. 

“It  is  a most  serious  offence  for  any  Catholic  to 
co-operate  in  or  attend  the  meetings  for  Protestant 
worship,  funerals,  etc.,  whether  within  or  without  the 
Church  (Protestant). 

“Those  of  the  faithful  who  receive  or  have  in 
their  possession  leaflets,  tracts,  loose  sheets,  or  peri- 
odicals such  as  the  ‘Evangelista  Colombiano/  ‘El 
Progress©/  of  N.  Y.  City,  Bibles  or  books  of  whatever 
other  kind,  whether  printed  within  or  without  the 
Republic  (Colombian),  which  are  sold  or  distributed 
by  the  Protestant  misionaries  or  by  their  agents  or  by 
other  booksellers,  are  absolutely  obligated  to  deliver 
such  books  to  their  parish  priest  or  to  surrender  them 
to  the  ecclesiastical  tribunal  of  the  Archbishopric. 

“This  circular  shall  be  read  in  all  churches  during 
mass  for  three  consecutive  Sundays  for  the  full  under- 
standing of  the  faithful. 

(Signed)  Bernardo, 

Archbishop  of  Bogota.” 


Leader  now  resumes. 

Many  of  the  people,  however,  do  not  pay  much 
attention  to  the  priests  and  are  glad  to  welcome  our 
missionaries.  In  Barranquilla  recently,  as  a result 
of  Bible  study  classes  held  by  Rev.  W.  S.  Lee  for  a 
long  time,  a number  of  men  have  become  earnest 
workers,  winning  others  to  Christ.  One  of  them 
started  in  his  own  home  a meeting  for  those  who 
had  lost  interest  in  religion  and  succeeded  in  win- 
ning nearly  all  of  them  to  Christ.  They  have  gone 
into  a neighboring  village,  started  meetings  and  a 
school  of  twenty  children  has  been  gathered.  This  is 
something  new  for  this  village  in  which  “parents 
and  grandparents  have  never  missed  the  school  but 


49 


have  just  chopped  wood,  driven  their  donkeys  and 
lived  on  the  simplest  products  of  the  soil.” 

Good  news  comes  also  from  the  interior  of  San 
Lorenzo.  One  of  the  members  of  our  church  at 
Bogota  went  there  selling  Bibles.  Many  of  the  peo- 
ple urged  him  to  remain  and  start  a church  and 
school.  They  promised  to  secure  a room  free  of 
rent,  to  provide  seats,  desks,  blackboard,  etc.,  and 
pay  a small  salary  to  the  teacher.  He  accepted  the 
offer,  started  services,  and  a little  later  a school  for 
men  and  boys.  There  were  as  many  day  pupils  as 
one  teacher  could  handle,  and  so  a night  school  was 
started  for  some  eight  or  ten  men  who  wanted  to 
learn  to  read  and  write.  All  the  pupils,  men  and 
boys,  offered  to  attend  the  church  services  which 
were  held  several  times  during  the  week.  A visit 
was  made  by  the  missionaries  from  Bogota  and 
large  numbers  attended  the  metings  that  were  held, 
twenty  persons  publicly  confessing  Christ  as  their 
Lord  and  Master.  Regular  church  and  Sunday 
school  services  are  held.  What  has  been  done  in 
San  Lorenzo  might  be  done  in  many  other  places. 
Going  up  the  Magdalena  river,  one  of  our  mission- 
aries sends  back  this  thrilling  news,  “A  thousand 
towns  await  our  coming.”* 

Missionary  Work 

Now  let  us  turn  to  the  blackboard  and  our  note- 
books and  put  down  the  names  of  our  six  stations 
in  Colombia  with  the  dates  of  their  opening. 

* Rev.  A.  M.  Allan  quoted  by  Miss  Martha  B.  Hunter  in 
Quarterly  Letter  of  Barranquilla  Station,  June  30,  1915. 


50 


Perhaps  if  we  put  them  down  in  this  way,  we 
can  remember  them  more  easily. 


B 


ogota  1856 

arranquilla  1888 
ucaramanga  1912 


c 


erete 


artagena 


M 


edellin 


1889 

19 1 1 reopened 


1913 

1914 


For  thirty-two  years  there  was  only  one  Sta- 
tion, and  that  at  Bogota  in  the  capital.  Then  came 
Barranquilla  (Bar-ran-quil-ya)  in  1888.  A year 
later,  1889,  Medellin  (Me-del-lin)  was  opened, 
closed  later  on  account  of  sickness,  and  reopened 
in  1911.  The  early  history  of  the  Colombia  Mission 
has  been  one  of  struggle  against  ill  health,  for  on  the 
coast  the  climate  is  very  enervating  and  in  the 
mountains  very  stimulating,  so  that  some  persons 
cannot  stand  the  strain  of  either  kind  very  long. 

However,  since  1911,  when  Medellin  was  re- 
opened the  work  has  gone  forward.  Bucaramanga 
(Bu-car-a-manga) , two  hundred  miles  northeast  of 
Bogota,  was  opened  in  1912.  Cerete  (Ce-re-te), 
about  twenty-four  hours’  sail  on  the  Sinu  River 
from  the  coast,  was  opened  in  1913.  Cartagena 
(Car-ta-hena),  on  the  sea  coast,  about  four  hundred 
miles  northwest  of  Bogota,  was  opened  in  1914. 


Si 


Let  us  locate  all  these  places  on  the  map.* 

One  date  is  doubly  important  and  I should  like 
to  have  you  remember  it,  so  we  shall  put  it  on  the 
board  and  in  note-books,  thus : 

1656  BKIMIOM  OF 

Protestant  MIC  CIAN C ]M  Colombia 
resbyterian  FIlOJlUIlO  III  South  America 

Colombia,  like  Siam,  is  practically  a Presby- 
terian mission  field,  as  the  Gospel  Missionary  Union 
is  the  only  other  mission*  working  there,  and  it  has 
only  one  man,  who  is  not  ordained.  We  have  a 
large  responsibility  in  giving  the  gospel  to  this  dark 
and  needy  land.  Both  the  American  and  the  British 
and  Foreign  Bible  Societies  have  representatives  in 
Colombia,  and  their  efforts  are  a great  aid  to  the 
missionaries.  The  urgent  need  is  for  the  training 
of  Colombian  workers  who  will  be  fitted  to  go  to 
their  own  people  as  ministers  of  the  gospel. 

Just  how  needy  this  land  is  the  story  of  “A  Day 
in  Bogota”**  will  show. 

* See  key  map  at  end  of  book,  from  which  the  Stations  on  the 
outline  maps,  wall  and  note-book  size,  should  be  marked. 

f Condition  in  1916.  For  later  statistics  consult  current 
reports. 


**  See  “Latin  American  Stories”  compiled  by  George  H.  Trull. 


Chile 

There  is  one  country  in  South  America  which  if 
one  end  were  placed  at  Charleston,  South  Caro- 
lina, the  other  end  would  extend  nearly  to  San 
Diego,  California;  or  if  one  end  were  placed  at  Nova 
Scotia  you  could  walk  the  length  of  it  dry  shod  from 
Halifax  to  Liverpool.  This  same  country  while 
2,627*  miles  long  has  a width  of  from  100  to  248 
miles.*  Have  you  guessed  its  name?  I think  you 
have,  as  you  look  at  our  outline  map.*  It  is 
CHILE. 

Now  let’s  put  these  figures  on  the  blackboard. 


CHILE 

Length,  2,627  miles. 
Width,  100  to  248  miles. 


The  length  is  very  easy  to  remember,  because 
27  always  follows  26. 

Perhaps  you  might  think  of  Chile  as  a fine  bou- 
levard, a suitable  Lincoln  Highway  across  the 
United  States  if  placed  upon  our  country.  But  it 
wouldn’t  make  a good  highway  at  all,  because  you 
would  encounter  high  mountain  peaks,  rainless  des- 
erts and  trackless  forests  in  many  sections  along 
the  way,  if  you  brought  Chilean  conditions  to 
America. 

t According  to  J.  H.  McLean  in  “The  Living  Christ  For  Latin 
America,”  page  9. 

* Use  Outline  Latin  American  Wall  Map.  Price  20  cents  pre- 
paid. See  Key  Map  at  end  of  book. 


53 


The  proper  pronunciation  of  the  name  of  this 
country  we  are  considering  is  Chee-le.  It  sounds  a 
little  bit  as  if  it  might  be  a cool  place  to  live,  doesn’t 
it,  if  we  are  to  judge  by  the  name?  It  is  indeed 
not  only  chilly,  but  quite  cold  on  the  high  moun- 
tains capped  with  perpetual  snow,  and  in  the  far 
south.  We  in  North  America,  think  of  our  south 
land  as  hot,  but  South  Americans  think  of  their 
south  land  as  cold,  and  what  is  the  reason?  (Draw 
out  answer  that  nearness  to  the  Equator  means 
heat,  and  that  the  farther  south  one  goes  in  South 
America  the  greater  distance  is  he  from  the  Equa- 
tor, and  consequently  the  colder.) 

In  fact,  you  can  get  many  varieties  of  climate  in 
Chile,  because  in  round  numbers,  its  northern  end 
is  within  1,250  (1,251)  miles  of  the  Equator,  and 
its  southern  end  within  2,400  (2,432)  miles  of  the 
south  pole.  If  Chile  were  in  the  northern  hemi- 
sphere it  would  extend  from  Porto  Rico  to  Labra- 
dor, or  from  Guatemala  to  the  southernmost  point 
of  Alaska. 

There  is  considerable  variety  of  climate  between 
San  Juan,  Porto  Rico  and  Labrador.  So  there  is 
between  northern  and  southern  Chile.  Chile  is  four 
times  the  length  of  California  and  about  one-half 
its  width. 

There  are  three  distinct  sections  in  this  country : 

(1)  The  nitrate  and  mineral  region  in  the  north. 
Here  an  umbrella  dealer  would  soon  become 
bankrupt,  for  it  never  rains. 


54 


(2)  The  cold  southland  with  its  fog  and  forests, 
high  plateaus  and  numerous  islands.  In  the 
northern  part  of  this  section  at  Valdivia,  it 
rains  172  days  a year. 

(3)  In  between  these  two  regions  is  the  real 
garden  spot  of  Chile,  the  central  valley,  in 
which  are  located  Santiago,  the  capital ; 
Concepcion,  and  numerous  smaller  towns 
and  villages.  Four-fifths  of  all  the  people  of 
Chile  live  in  this  section.  It  is  a region  about 
500  miles  long  and  about  100  miles  wide. 

Perhaps  one  would  not  expect  much  from  the 
products  of  a country,  of  whose  land  more  than 
half  is  desert  (57  per  cent.)  ; and  more  than  one- 
quarter  is  forest  (26^2  per  cent.).  Yet  the  richest 
part  of  Chile  is  its  barren  desert  where  not  a blade 
of  grass  is  ever  seen.  Here  are  the  great  deposits 
of  nitrate  which  are  the  chief  source  of  Chile’s 
wealth.  Coming  from  barren  regions  these  nitrates 
help  to  make  other  soil  fertile.  In  a little  more 
than  30  years  the  revenue  of  the  Chilean  govern- 
ment from  the  nitrates  amounted  to  more  than 
$425,000,000,  or  69  per  cent,  of  the  government’s 
income. 

Having  learned  something  about  Chile’s  geog- 
raphy, we  want  to  know  something  of  her  history. 

We  shall  call  on  to  tell  us  something  of 

the  early  days,  nearly  one  hundred  years  before  the 
Pilgrims  landed  on  Plymouth  Rock. 

Note:  Some  member  of  the  school  before  appointed  now 
tells  in  his  own  words  the  following: 


55 


After  Francisco  Pizarro  had  conquered  Peru  in 
I532  by  treacherously  slaying  the  Emperor  of  the  Incan 
Empire,  and  had  taken  more  than  fifteen  million  dollars 
worth  of  gold,  he  turned  his  attention  to  the  regions 
lying  south.  Almagro,  one  of  Pizarro’s  officers,  in- 
vaded Chile  and  defeated  the  Indians  in  the  north,  but 
finding  no  gold  and  only  barren  deserts  he  returned. 
Later  another  officer  of  Pizarro’s,  Pedro  Valdivia,  in  a 
campaign  lasting  five  years,  1540-1545,  subdued  all  the 
land,  except  the  sturdy  Araucanian  Indians  in  the  far 
south.  These  Indians  are  the  only  tribe  either  in  North 
or  South  America  that  have  never  been  conquered  by 
their  foes.  There  were  frequent  clashes  between  them 
and  the  Spanish  settlers  until  in  1722,  a treaty  was 
signed  which  recognized  the  rights  of  the  Araucanians, 
and  the  river  Biobio  was  agreed  to  as  the  northern 
boundary  of  their  territory.  This  river  empties  into  the 
Pacific  near  Concepcion  where  we  have  one  of  our 
mission  stations  today. 

Leader  resumes. 

We  are  glad  to  have  heard  of  the  early  history 
of  Chile,  and  should  like  to  know  more  of  what  fol- 
lowed immediately  after.  will  please  tell 

us. 


Note:  Another  member  of  the  school  before  appointed  now 
relates  the  following  in  his  own  words: 

The  Spaniards  who  settled  Chile  had  little  regard 
for  the  native  Indians  and  treated  them  very  cruelly. 
They  took  all  the  best  part  of  the  land  for  them- 
selves ; and  the  Indians,  except  the  Araucanians,  were 
their  slaves.  The  Spanish  officials  soon  showed  that 
their  chief  aim  was  to  get  all  they  could  for  themselves, 
no  matter  how  others  fared.  When,  therefore,  the 
spirit  of  revolution  was  aroused  in  other  South  Ameri- 
can colonies,  there  was  a hearty  response  also  in 
Chile. 

Leader  resumes. 

There  is  one  great  name  in  the  history  of  our 
own  country  which  every  school  girl  and  boy 


56 


knows.  His  birthday  was  February  22nd.  If  you 
will  tell  me  his  name,  I will  put  it  on  the  black- 
board. (Draw  reply.) 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON 


Now  there  is  another  name  in  the  history  of 
South  America’s  struggle  for  independence  from 
Spanish  oppression  that  is  worthy  to  stand  beside 
Washington’s.  If  any  of  you  have  been  reading  or 
studying  “Makers  of  South  America,”*  by  Miss 
Margarette  Daniels,  you  will  know  at  once  the 
name  of  this  patriot  which  we  shall  now  put  on  the 
board  beside  George  Washington’s: 


George  Washington  — Jose  de  San  Martin 


As  all  here  to-day  may  not  know  what  San 
Martin  did  to  win  Chilean  independence,  I am  go- 
ing to  ask to  tell  us. 

Note:  Some  member  of  the  school  now  comes  forward  and 
relates  In  his  own  words  the  following: 

Just  across  the  Andes  Mountains  from  Chile  on  the 
Argentine  side  lay  the  town  of  Mendoza.  Here,  early 
in  the  nineteenth  century  were  living  a number  of 

* Published  by  Missionary  Education  Movement,  Price  60  cents 
cloth,  40  cents  paper;  prepaid. 


57 


patriots  who  had  been  exiled  from  Chile,  by  the  Span- 
ish colonial  government  which  had  its  headquarters  in 
Peru. 

There  came  to  Mendoza  in  1813  an  Argentine  by 
the  name  of  Jose  de  San  Martin.  He  had  been 
trained  as  a military  man  in  Europe  and  in  his  heart 
was  a great  purpose— to  free  his  own  country  and  the 
rest  of  South  America  from  the  tyranny  of  Spain.  He 
showed  such  ability  as  a leader  that  he  was  given  com- 
mand of  the  patriot  forces.  He  determined  from  Men- 
doza as  a base  to  train  an  army,  cross  the  passes  of  the 
Andes  into  Chile,  free  it  from  Spanish  rule  and  then  to 
push  on  by  sea  to  the  very  stronghold  of  Spanish 
power  in  Peru. 

In  January,  1817,  his  army  in  six  divisions  crossed 
the  great  peaks  of  the  Andes,  took  the  Spanish  forces 
by  surprise  and  defeated  them.  Later  the  Spanish 
troops  secured  reinforcements  and  won  a victory  over 
San  Martin  in  March  of  the  following  year;  but  just 
seventeen  days  later,  San  Martin  on  April  5th  crushed 
the  Spanish  forces  so  utterly  that  the  independence  of 
Chile  was  securely  established.  The  true  greatness  of 
San  Martin  who  effaced  himself  in  the  cause  of  liberty 
is  told  in  the  rest  of  the  chapter  in  “Makers  of  South 
America.” 

Leader  now  resumes* 

Geography  and  history  are  interesting,  but  so 
are  the  people  of  to-day.  I should  like  to  have  a 
twelve-year-old  girl  please  come  to  the  platform. 
Thank  you.  Will  you  please  stand  here  beside  me, 
on  my  left.  Now,  in  imagination,  I want  you  all  to 
see  another  girl  of  twelve  standing  on  the  other 
side  of  me,  who  is  not  a member  of  this  Sunday 
School,  but  a Chilean  girl  of  the  poorer,  or  “peon,” 
class,  and  we  shall  see  what  differences  there  are 
between  these  two  girls,  one  from  North  America 
and  the  other  from  South  America. 

* If  it  is  desired  to  use  two  Sundays  for  this  Talk,  here  is  a 
good  dividing  point. 

58 


First,  as  to  appearance.  Mary  (use  the  child’s 
real  name),  here  at  my  left,  has  a fair  skin,  whik 
Elisa  on  the  right,  our  Chilean  friend,  is  swarthy. 
It  is  due  to  ancestry.  Mary’s  parents  and  grand- 
parents are  Americans,  all  born  in  the  United 
States  (give  the  real  facts  in  the  case),  while 
Elisa’s  ancestors  are  a mixture  of  Indian  and  Span- 
ish. Mary  will  look  me  straight  in  the  eye,  but 
Elisa  has  a frightened  look,  due  to  her  religious 
training.  Elisa  does  not  hesitate  to  tell  lies,  and 
sees  no  harm  in  it  unless  caught.  Mary,  here,  you 
will  notice,  has  a pretty  white  dress  (or  state  color 
it  happens  to  be),  but  Elisa  has  on  a very  shabby 
one.  She  has  not  had  a new  one  in  several  years, 
and  the  reason  is  her  father  is  an  in-qui-lino,  that 
is,  he  is  a contract  laborer.  He  is  really  attached  to 
the  soil.  He  does  not  own  his  own  home,  but  lives 
in  a small  hut  on  the  big  estate  of  his  employer.  He 
has  the  use  of  six  acres  of  ground,  pasture  for  five 
animals,  and  wages  of  sixteen  cents  a day  with  food 
for  himself,  but  not  for  Elisa  or  her  brothers  and 
sisters  and  her  mother. 

Elisa’s  father  gets  for  breakfast  a handful  of 
parched  wheat,  for  dinner  a plate  of  boiled  beans  or 
stew,  and  for  supper  a pound  of  coarse  bread.  Elisa 
sometimes  has  similar  food,  but  often  she  is  hungry, 
for  there  are  six  or  seven  other  mouths  to  feed  in 
her  humble  home,  and  sixteen  cents  a day  don’t 
allow  many  dainties.  We  won’t  ask  Mary  here  to 
tell  us  what  she  had  for  breakfast,  but  I don’t 
think  it  was  parched  wheat. 

Mary  here,  sometimes  goes  away  from  home  to 


59 


the  seashore  or  mountains  or  to  visit  friends  or  rel- 
atives, but  Elisa  has  never  been  off  of  the  big  estate 
of  her  father’s  employer.  It  contains  300,000  acres. 
Other  estates  nearby  are  even  larger;  400,000  and 
even  500,000  acres;  as  large  as  whole  counties  in 
some  of  our  States  here  in  North  America.  It  is 
not  uncommon  to  find  an  estate  three  miles  wide  and 
more  than  one  hundred  miles  long,  extending  clear 
across  the  country  from  the  Andes  Mountains  to 
the  Pacific  Ocean.  The  owner  of  one  large  estate, 
or  hac-i-enda,  as  they  call  them  in  Elisa’s  country, 
told  one  of  our  missionaries  that  it  would  take  a 
good  horseman  five  days  to  ride  from  one  end  of  his 
hacienda  to  the  other.* 

Most  of  the  people  in  Chile  are  poor  like  Elisa’s 
father,  for  3 per  cent,  of  the  population  has  93  per 
cent,  of  the  wealth,  and  7 per  cent,  of  the  population 
owns  all  the  tillable  land. 

Elisa’s  father  has  lived  for  years  on  this  one  es- 
tate. He  cannot  leave  even  if  he  wants  to,  because 
he  is  in  debt  to  his  employer.  With  his  small 
wages  and  his  growing  family  he  has  been  getting 
deeper  into  debt  every  year,  and  the  law  will  not 
permit  him  to  leave  his  employer  as  long  as  he  is  in 
debt  to  him.  So  you  see  Elisa’s  father  is  little  bet- 
ter than  a slave. 

Mary  here,  can  read  and  write.  She  is  in  the  — 
grade  in  school  (state  which).  But  Elisa  has  never 
been  to  school  and  so  she  cannot  read  or  write. 
Neither  can  her  father  or  mother,  or  any  of  her 
sisters  and  brothers.  She  and  the  other  children 

* “The  Living  Christ  for  Latin  America,”  McLean,  p.  54. 

6o 


of  the  family  are  not  among  the  fortunate  250,000** 
for  whom  elementary  schools  are  provided.  They 
are  among  the  450,000**  for  whom  there  is  no 
room. 

Even  if  there  were  room  for  Elisa  in  one  of  the 
public  schools,  her  mother  and  father  could  hardly 
spare  her  from  home,  for  there  is  always  so  much 
to  do.  She  has  to  help  cook,  and  wash,  and  look 
after  the  younger  children  and  often  she  has  to 
work  hard  in  the  fields.  If  there  were  room  in  the 
school  for  Elisa,  and  if  she  could  be  spared  from 
home  to  go,  she  would  have  no  table  at  home  on 
which  to  write,  and  no  lamp  by  which  to  study. 
The  fleas  in  the  hut  are  so  bad  that  she  would  not 
have  much  comfort  in  studying  even  if  there  were  a 
lamp  and  a table. 

Mary  here,  has  a very  pretty  home,  but  Elisa’s 
is  not  attractive.  No,  it  is  not  even  clean,  and  how 
can  it  be  when  pigs  and  chickens  and  dogs  are  as 
welcome  in  it  as  the  children? 

Elisa  says  her  little  baby  brother  is  sick  and  no- 
body knows  what  is  the  matter  with  him.  Her 
mother  is  worried,  because  five  other  children  of  the 
family  all  died  before  they  were  two  years  old.  In 
fact,  three-fourths  of  all  the  children  in  Chile  die 
before  they  are  two  years  of  age,  so  we  know  that 
Elisa  can  hardly  expect  little  brother  Pedro  to  get 
well. 

Maybe  some  of  that  timid  look  in  Elisa’s  eyes  is 
due  to  ill  treatment  from  her  father,  for  like  many 

**  Report  on  Education  to  Santiago  Regional  Congress  1916, 
p.  19. 


6l 


another  in-qui-lino  he  often  gets  drunk.  A Chilean 
writer  has  said  that  every  Monday  morning  in 
Chile  there  are  23,000  workmen  who  are  unable  to 
go  to  work  because  of  intemperance.  Elisa  says 
that  she  has  uncles  who  live  in  the  big  cities  of 
Valparaiso  and  Santiago,  and  that  they  told  her  that 
it  is  easy  to  get  liquor  in  either  place,  as  Valpa- 
raiso* has  one  saloon  for  every  twenty-four  men  of 
its  population,  and  that  in  Santiago*  there  are  6,000 
places  where  liquor  is  sold. 

Mary  here,  tells  me  she  has  a Bible  of  her  own. 
But  Elisa  has  never  seen  one.  The  priests  have 
told  her  it  is  a dreadful  book  and  that  she  might 
better  receive  a rattlesnake  into  the  house,*  and  that 
it  is  a book  fit  only  to  be  burned.  In  fact,  Elisa 
tells  us  that  not  long  ago  in  the  public  square  at 
Chilian  (pronounce  Chil-yan),  not  far  from  where 
she  lives,  Bibles  were  burned  by  the  priest. 

Mary  here,  knows  about  Christ’s  love  for  chil- 
dren and  his  words,  “Suffer  little  children,  and  for- 
bid them  not,  to  come  unto  me : for  to  such  belong- 
eth  the  Kingdom  of  heaven.”  But  Elisa  has  never 
heard  those  words  and  thinks  to  get  anywhere  near 
Jesus  at  all,  she  must  do  it  through  prayers  to  the 
saints  and  to  the  Virgin  Mary.  Every  day  she 
bows  before  the  image  of  Mary  and  prays  to  her 
as  the  Mother  of  God. 

When  you  hear  how  different  is  the  life  of  Elisa 
from  that  of  Mary  you  must  want  to  ask  me  this 

t “South  American  Problems.”  by  R.  E.  Speer.  Page  45. 

* A statement  actually  made  by  priests  at  S&o  Ju&o  de  Para- 
guassu.  State  of  Bahia,  Brazil.  Quoted  in  pamphlet  “Does 
Brazil  Need  Protestant  Missions?”  by  Rev.  O.  A.  Landes,  p.  4. 


62 


question,  “What  is  being  done  for  the  needy  people 
of  Chile?  Suppose  we  ask to  tell  us. 


Note:  Some  member  of  tbe  school  comes  forward  and  in  his 
own  words  relates  tbe  following: 

I am  going  to  put  on  the  blackboard  just  a few 
figures  in  reply  to  the  question  as  to  what  is  being 
done  in  Chile.  First  I shall  put  down 


CHRISTMAS  DAY,  1845 


You  say  that  is  back  in  the  last  century.  That’s 
true,  but  we  want  to  begin  at  the  beginning,  so  beside 
what  we  have  on  the  board  I shall  put 


CHRISTMAS  DAY,  1845 
First  Protestant  Missionary  landed  at 
Valparaiso,  Rev.  David  Trumbull 


That  was  the  best  Christmas  gift  Valparaiso  had 
ever  gotten  from  North  America,  an  earnest,  splendid 
young  man  of  26  who  came  as  a messenger  of  Jesus 
Christ,  a missionary  of  the  Foreign  Evangelical 
Society.  He  built  up  a strong  Union  Church  in  Val- 
paraiso among  the  foreign  residents  and  sought  also 
to  reach  the  Chileans.  He  was  active  in  every  kind 
of  reform  and  spent  forty-four  years  in  missionary 
service. 


63 


Now  another  important  date 


JULY  14,  1873 

Beginning  of  Presbyterian  Missionary 
Work 


This  was  by  transfer  to  us  of  the  work  of  the  American 
and  Foreign  Christian  Union. 

Leader  now  resumes. 

Since  1873,  our  work  has  grown,  so  that  now 
in  Valparaiso  we  have  a splendid  church  and  Sun- 
day School  called  the  “San  Martin  Church/’  for 
Spanish  speaking  people.  We  have  also  the  “Es- 
cuela  Popular,”  or  Popular  School,  for  girls  and 
boys,  with  more  than  two  hundred  pupils  ;*  and 
some  seven  or  eight  smaller  popular  schools  and 
preaching  places  in  and  near  Valparaiso.  All  this 
work  keeps  our  missionary  force  busy  every  week 
day  and  Sunday.  One  fine  thing  is  that  in  the 
Escuela  Popular  we  are  training  young  women  who 
are  becoming  teachers  in  our  schools  which  we  are 
establishing  all  over  the  city.  On  Sundays,  preach- 
ing services  and  Sunday  School  are  held  in  the 
buildings  where  day  school  is  carried  on  during 
the  week. 

Next  we  shall  mark  on  our  wall  map,f  Santiago, 
the  capital.  Here  we  have  two  large  churches  with 
Chilean  pastors,  and  a number  of  chapels.  Here 
too  is  our  fine  High  School  for  boys  known  as  the 

* 1916.  For  latest  statistics  consult  current  reports. 

f Use  Outline  Latin  American  Wall  Map.  Price  20  cents  pre- 
paid. See  Key  Map  at  end  of  book. 

64 


Institute  Ingles,  which  since  its  founding  in  1876 
has  been  sending  its  graduates  all  over  South 
America.  Many  of  them  are  occupying  positions 
of  honor  and  trust.  The  Bible  is  taught  regularly 
in  this  school  as  in  our  other  Mission  schools.  One 
day  a lady  interviewed  the  Principal  of  the  school 
regarding  entering  her  grandson  as  a pupil.  She 
said  that  she  wanted  it  arranged  for  him  to  have  a 
certain  brand  of  wine  which  he  was  accustomed  to 
have  at  home.  The  Principal  told  her  that  no  kind 
of  wine  was  allowed  in  the  school.  Then  the  lady 
asked  if  beer  were  permitted  and  she  was  told  that 
it  was  not,  but  jokingly  the  Principal  told  her  the 
boy  might  have  “Scott’s  Emulsion”  if  he  desired. 
The  grandmother  took  it  seriously,  was  satisfied, 
and  entered  the  boy,  sending  along  a supply  of  cod 
liver  oil  as  a beverage.  Here  are  some  of  the  testi- 
monials which  the  graduates  of  the  Tnstituto  Ingles 
have  given  as  to  the  influence  of  the  school  on  their 
lives.  Different  members  of  our  school  will  tell  us. 


“At  my  old  school  I learned  to  appreciate  the 
meaning  of  true  manliness,  courage,  truthfulness, 
activity,  and  loyalty  to  duty;  and  I must  frankly  admit 
that  I owe  all  these  inspiring  ideals  to  my  Anglo- 
Saxon  teachers.  They  taught  me  human  fellowship, 
they  counselled  me  to  be  always  active.  I was  a poor 
boy,  a very  poor  boy,  while  most  of  my  schoolmates 
were  wealthy  and  aristocratic,  but  as  long  as  I kept  the 
standing  that  was  demanded  of  me,  and  did  my  utmost 
in  my  classes,  my  professors  were  my  best  friends  and 
treated  me  accordingly.  Of  these  experiences  I could 
speak  volumes.” 

“But  the  Instituto  did  not  only  lay  the  foundation 
stones  for  my  profession;  it  as  well  gave  me  a firm 
base  on  which  to  build  my  moral  life,  and  in  whatever 

65 


way  I may  have  gone  wrong,  I certainly  could  not 
blame  it  on  the  teaching  of  the  Instituto  Ingles. 

“I  will  never  forget  the  farewell  hymn  we  sang 
before  breaking  up  school  at  the  close  of  my  senior 
year, — ‘God  be  with  you  till  we  meet  again.’  A boy 
could  not  be  sent  off  with  better  words  ringing  in  his 
ears.” 

“I  have  to  thank  the  Instituto  Ingles  for  many 
good  influences  and  ideas,— above  all ' for  the  sound, 
clean,  moral,  and  healthly  ones  which  I hope  to  keep 
ever  before  me. 

“I  do  not  believe  there  is  a school  in  Chile  where 
so  much  importance  is  given  to  the  moral  training  of 
the  boys  as  in  Instituto  Ingles,  and  the  difference  be- 
tween the  average  boy  of  other  schools  and  of  the 
Instituto  Ingles  is  very  noticeable.  Business  men  have 
found  this  out  long  ago,  and  they  have  always  pre- 
ferred an  Instituto  boy  to  any  other.” 

“As  the  years  go  by,  I have  learned  to  consider 
that  short  period  I spent  at  the  Instituto  as  the  time 
when  the  foundations  of  my  moral  character  were  laid. 
I was  taught,  indeed,  one  thing  above  all  else,— to  love 
honest  work  and  to  seek  after  righteousness.” 

Leader  now  resumes. 

In  addition  to  the  Instituto  Ingles,  we  have  at 
Santiago  a Theological  Seminary  in  which  we  unite 
with  the  Methodists  and  the  Christian  and  Mission- 
ary Alliance.  Here  several  young  men  are  in  train- 
ing for  the  ministry.  Chile’s  great  need  to-day  is 
an  increasing  number  of  capable  and  trained  men  to 
go  out  into  places  of  Christian  leadership  all  over 
their  own  land. 

From  Santiago,  let  us  go  south,  down  the  beau- 
tiful central  valley,  lying  between  the  high  snow- 
capped peaks  of  the  Andes  on  the  west  and  the 
Coast  Range  on  the  east.  In  this  valley  we  have 
work  at  San  Fernando,  Curico,  Talca,  Chilian  and 


66 


Concepion.  We  shall  mark  them  all  on  the  map. 
Suppose  we  stop  long  enough  at  Curico  to  hear  the 
story,  “A  Doorkeeper  in  the  House  of  the  Lord”* 
___ will  tell  us. 

Note:  Some  member  of  the  school  now  comes  to  the  front 
and  tells  the  story  mentioned. 

Leader  now  resumes. 

Concepion  is  the  center  of  our  work  in  Southern 
Chile.  We  have  a strong  church  here  and  a little 
school  on  the  outskirts.  You  should  hear  the  story, 
“Life  in  the  Tenements  of  Chile,”  as  told  by  our  mis- 
sionary, Mrs.  Garvin.  will  relate  it  for  us* 

Leader  resumes. 

South  of  Concepion  are  three  small  outstations, 
the  principal  one  of  which  is  Traiguen.  These 
places  are  near  the  region  of  the  Araucanian  Ind- 
ians, though  we  have  no  work  among  them.  The 
Episcopal  Church  is  laboring  there  very  successfully. 

From  southern  Chile,  we  shall  now  hasten  to 
our  stations  in  the  north  and  mark  them  on  the 
map,t  in  quick  succession;  Taltal  on  the  coast, 
Copiapo  inland,  Tocopilla  our  most  northern  port, 
and  Chanaral  in  the  interior.  We  shall  leave  um- 
brellas and  raincoats  behind,  for  we  are  in  the  ni- 
trate region,  where  you  will  remember,  it  never 
rains.  It  is  indeed  a parched  and  thirsty  land  and 
so  are  the  people  for  the  living  water  which  Christ 
offers.  Here  is  a page  from  our  Mission  Report: 

* See  “Latin  American  Stories,”  compiled  by  George  H.  Trull. 

f Use  Outline  Latin  America  Wall  Map.  Price  20  cents  pre- 
paid. See  Key  Map  at  end  of  book. 

6 7 


“Opportunities  in  the  north  of  Chile  are  limited 
only  by  lack  of  workers  to  adequately  man  the  field. 
One’s  heart  goes  out  to  these  thousands  of  men  and 
women  and  little  children  who  live  and  work  under 
such  conditions.  After  twelve  and  often  eighteen 
hours  of  the  hardest  physical  labor,  much  of  it  under 
a broiling  tropical  sun,  in  the  nitrate  pits  getting  out 
the  raw  materials,  loading  it  on  cars,  feeding  the 
crushers,  or  tending  the  boiling  vats,  the  only  relaxa- 
tion the  men  know  is  the  bar  and  the-  gambling  den, 
where  they  leave  the  most  of  their  wages.  The  hor- 
rible little  huts  built  of  corrugated  iron  in  interminable 
rows,  with  only  a thin  wall  to  separate  families,  many 
of  them  without  windows,  without  ventilation,  with 
the  sand  of  the  desert  for  a floor,  without  the  most 
primitive  sanitary  arrangements,  scorching  under  the 
mid-day  sun,  chilling  in  the  wintry  nights — what  en- 
ticement do  they  afford  from  the  grog-shop?  And  how 
the  children  swarm ! swarthy,  half-naked,  with  no 
acquaintance  with  water  since  they  entered  the  world, 
these  are  the  fathers  and  mothers  and  the  citizens  of 
to-morrow. 

“What  is  being  done  for  them?  In  some  of  the 
oficinas  there  is  a Philharmonic  provided  at  great  ex- 
pense by  the  companies  but  of  doubtful  benefit  to  the 
people.  Most  of  the  companies  try  to  have  some  sort 
of  a school,  but  teachers  are  hard  to  get,  and  there  is 
no  compulsory  education  in  Chile — hence  the  60% 
illiteracy.  The  Gospel  comes  to  these  people  as  a 
breath  from  God’s  own  heaven.” 

Are  we  accomplishing  anything  in  this  desert 
land?  Listen  to  this  story,  “The  Conversion  of  a 
Chilean  Terror.”* 


Note:  Some  member  of  the  school  now  tells  this  story.* 


* See  “Latin  American  Stories,”  compiled  by  George  H.  Trull. 


68 


Brazil 


Here  is  a familiar  object  on  the  average  break- 
fast table.  Who  can  guess  what  it  is?  (Show  a 
coffee  pot,  or  picture  of  one  from  some  advertise- 
ment.) Yes,  it  is  a coffee  pot.  Now,  who  can  tell 
me  where  most  of  the  world’s  coffee  comes  from? 
(Brazil  is  right.)  Let’s  look  at  this  country  on  the 
map.  Into  it  you  could  put  all  of  the  United  States, 
excluding  Alaska,  and  the  Britsh  Isles,  Italy  and 
the  Netherlands.  Brazil  is  nearly  half  as  large  as  all 
of  South  America.  It  actually  contains  more  than 
half  of  the  farm  land  of  the  continent. 

Brazil  was  discovered  eight  years  later  than 
North  America.  Who  can  tell  me  the  year?  (1500.) 
It  was  on  May  3rd,  by  Vincent  Yanes  Pingon,  or 
Pinzon.  Now  I want  to  put  on  the  blackboard 
the  outline  of  a Brazilian  nut,*  and  inside  of  it  we 


BRAZILIAN  HISTORY 
1500 — Discovery  by  Pinzon 
1531-1822 — Colony  of  Portugal 
1822-1889 — Monarchy 

J Emperor  Dom  Pedro  II  Dethroned 
1 ^(Republic  Established 


* Draw  such  a rough  outline  if  possible,  otherwise  indicate 
dates  as  above. 


69 


shall  put  a few  dates  and  then  we  shall  have  in  a 
nutshell  the  outline  of  Brazil’s  history. 

If  you  put  these  dates  in  your  note-book  in  this 
way,  they  will  be  easy  to  remember. 

We  think  the  United  States  is  a great  big  coun- 
try, and  it  is.  But  remember  that  just  one  of  the 
countries  down  in  South  America,  Brazil,  is  even 
bigger. 

These  are  some  of  the  things  that  come  from  that 
land.  Please  tell  me  what  they  are  as  I hold  them 
up  for  you  to  see — coffee,  sugar,  raw  cotton,  rubber, 
cocoa,  rice,  oranges,  bananas,  lemons,  figs,  cocoa- 
nuts,  iron,  lead,  silver,  gold,  diamonds. 

Now  which  of  all  of  these  is  the  most  valuable? 
(Diamonds,  you  say.)  Perhaps  so,  but  the  coffee 
and  sugar  sent  out  from  Brazil  in  a single  year  re- 
cently was  worth  more  than  all  the  diamonds  that 
were  exported  in  ten  years. 

You  will  remember  in  our  first  study  we  heard 
about  the  great  rivers  of  Brazil.  It  has  a sea  coast 
of  4,000  miles.  It  has  forty-two  seaports  into  which 
the  ships  of  the  world  come  to  trade.  We  haven’t 
time  to-day  to  talk  further  of  these. 

I want  rather  to  ask  you  a question.  What  in 
Brazil  is  more  valuable  than  its  coffee  and  sugar 
crop,  more  valuable  than  its  silver  and  gold  and 
diamonds?  (Draw  out  the  answer.  Its  people.) 

Yes,  the  people  of  any  country,  are  its  most  val- 
uable asset.  Jesus  evidently  thought  that  one  hu- 
man soul  was  worth  more  than  the  wealth  of  the 
whole  world.  Do  you  recall  what  he  said?  (Draw 
out  the  answer,  “What  shall  it  profit  a man  if  he 


70 


gain  the  whole  world  and  lose  his  own  soul?”) 

First,  let’s  inquire  how  many  people  there  are 
in  Brazil.  Does  anyone  know?  (About  22,000,000 
to  24,000,000.) 

How  many  people  in  the  United  States? 
(100,000,000.)  How  does  Brazil  compare  in  area 
with  the  United  States?  (245,000  square  miles 
larger.)  In  population?  (One-fourth  as  many.) 

What  is  the  native  language  of  most  of  the  Bra- 
zilians? (Draw  out  the  reply  that  it  is  Portuguese.) 

In  all  the  other  countries  of  South  America  Span- 
ishes the  native  language.  To  be  exact,  however, 
we  should  really  speak  of  the  various  Indian  lan- 
guages as  the  native  languages  of  South  America 
just  as  they  are  of  North  America. 

We  shall  now  hear  from who  will  tell 

us  why  the  Brazilians  speak  Portuguese  and  the 
rest  of  South  Americans  Spanish. 

After  discoveries  of  the  New  World  were  made  by 
explorers  sailing  under  the  Spanish  and  under  the 
Portuguese  flags,  a division  line  was  agreed  upon  by 
the  two  powers  in  1494,  so  that  all  land  already  dis- 
covered or  yet  to  be  discovered  lying  one  side  of  this 
line  was  to  be  Spain’s  and  that  lying  on  the  other  side 
Portugal’s.  By  this  agreement,  Brazil  was  allotted  to 
Portugal  and  all  the  rest  of  South  America  to  Spain. 
Portuguese  colonists  settled  in  Brazil  and  thus  intro- 
duced the  Portuguese  language,  which  has  been  the 
prevailing  language  ever  since.  In  all  other  parts  of 
South  America,  the  Spanish  colonists  settled  and  their 
language  prevailed. 

Leader  now  resumes. 

Of  the  22,000,000  or  24,000,000  who  live  in  Bra- 
zil, there  are  about  1,000,000  Indians,  mostly  in  the 
unexplored  interior.  It  is  said  that  there  are  three 


7 1 


hundred  and  seventy-three  tribes,  among  whom  there 
is  no  resident  Protestant  missionary  whatsoever. 
These  are  the  people  who  gather  the  rubber,  much 
of  which  is  made  into  tires  for  automobiles.  Nearly 
one-half  of  the  world’s  rubber  supply  comes  from 
Brazil.  These  people  have  been  cruelly  beaten  and 
even  maimed  and  killed  by  wicked  overseers,  as  was 
done  in  Africa  a few  years  ago  by  the  overseers  of 
the  late  King  Leopold  of  Belgium.  The  Indians  of 
Brazil  need  the  gospel,  and  we  Presbyterians  have 
never  sent  a missionary  to  them. 

Now  look  at  Bahia  on  the  map.  I will  locate  it 
for  you.*  If  you  walk  along  the  streets  of  this  city 
in  northern  Brazil,  you  will  see  more  Negroes  than 
wdiite  persons.  Bahia  is  the  oldest  city  in  Brazil, 
founded  in  1549,  and  was  the  centre  of  the  African 
slave  trade.  There  are  some  2,500,000  to  5,000,000 
Negroes  in  Brazil  and  most  of  them  are  in  the  north. 
They  were  originally  brought  as  slaves  from  Africa, 
but  since  1888  slavery  has  been  abolished.  The  Ne- 
groes have  inter-married  with  the  other  peoples  and 
you  will  find  all  shades  of  color  among  the  Brazil- 
ian population. 

There  are  various  classes  of  people  in  Brazil  just 
as  in  the  United  States.  In  the  large  cities  like 
Rio,*  Sao  Paulo,*  and  Santos,  you  will  find  much 
wealth  and  culture  and  evidences  of  modern  life.  In 
many  of  the  rural  sections  and  in  the  interior  you 
will  find  much  that  is  primitive.  In  other  sections  in 


* Locate  these  on  the  outline  wall  map.  See  Key  Map  at  end 
of  book. 


72 


the  interior  you  will  find  great  areas  uninhabited 
and  unexplored. 

Let  us  go  with  one  of  our  missionaries  to  one  of 
the  simple  country  homes  in  the  south,  in  the  State 
of  Santa  Catharina.  will  tell  us  about  it. 

It  is  too  far  from  the  railroad  to  walk,  so  if  you 
can  ride  horseback,  we  will  have  a trot  and  gallop  over 
some  miles  of  country,  until  we  reach  our  destination. 
See  that  square  house  on  the  hill  built  of  pine  slabs? 
That’s  where  we  are  going.  As  we  dismount,  we  are 
given  a cordial  welcome  by  our  host. 

He  invites  us  to  enter  the  sitting  room  which  we 
find  very  dark.  As  soon  as  our  eyes  get  accustomed  to 
it,  we  glance  around  and  see  the  rude  partitions,  the 
heavy  benches,  and  the  large  hardwood  table  all  show- 
ing the  effects  of  use,  smoke  and  age.  Now  look  on 
the  walls.  There  hang  saddles,  bridles,  a Winchester 
magazine  rifle,  a couple  of  Smith  and  Wesson  revolvers 
of  heavy  calibre,  and  two  or  three  short,  wide  bladed 
swords.  With  these  our  host  cuts  his  way  through  the 
thick  tangle  of  forest  undergrowth.  Over  there  in 
the  corner  is  a pile  of  pack-saddles  and  thrown  on  top 
several  large  sheep  skins.  A beautiful  black  and  yellow 
puma  skin  hangs  from  a rafter.  I wonder  if  you  would 
like  to  have  met  that  skin  when  it  was  walking  around 
on  all  fours,  and  ready  to  spring  at  you,  in  the  forest? 

Perhaps  you  feel  hungry.  If  so,  we  will  go  into 
the  kitchen.  You  see  there  isn’t  a coal  range  or  a gas 
stove  on  which  to  cook  the  meals.  But  there  is  a fire, 
all  right.  It  is  in  the  middle  of  the  floor,  but  as  this 
floor  is  the  bare  ground,  it  doesn’t  matter.  There  is  no 
chimney,  a hole  in  the  roof  lets  out  the  smoke.  A 
kettle  of  water  is  boiling  merrily  on  the  bright  coals, 
so  we  may  have  a cup  of  coffee.  Everybody  in  Brazil 
drinks  coffee,  you  know,  even  the  young  children.  Over 
in  the  far  corner  is  a huge  wooden  pestle  and  mo»tar 
in  which  the  roasted  coffee  is  pulverized. 

Now,  let  us  step  into  the  two  bed  rooms  for  a mo- 
ment. Three  of  the  beds  are  narrow  and  without 
springs.  One  is  wider,  built  of  heavy  two  by  three 
joists.  Over  them  are  stretched  strips  of  tightly  drawn 
raw  hide  interlaced.  The  mattresses  are  sacks  of  hay 
pr  cornhusks.  Not  very  comfortable  you  think,  but 


73 


that  depends  how  tired  you  are  when  you  go  to  bed. 
Look  at  those  oblong  trunks  made  of  raw  hide, 
stretched  hair  side  out  over  a strong  box  frame.  They 
don’t  look  at  all  like  our  wooden  or  fibre  trunks,  but 
they  are  much  better  than  ours  for  loading  on  pack 
animals.  In  an  emergency  a family  of  this  class  can 
pack  all  its  possessions,  excepting  furniture,  and  be 
ready  to  travel  within  a very  few  hours. 

Let’s  step  outside  now  and  see  the  farm.  Look  at 
those  charred  stumps  in  the  field.  A few  months  ago 
this  was  forest  land.  It  all  had  to  be  cut  down  and 
burned.  Between  the  blackened  stumps  and  heavier 
logs  that  still  remain,  without  even  hoeing  the  land, 
the  crop  was  planted. 

The  afternoon  meal  is  now  ready,  so  we  must 
hurry  back  to  the  house.  The  table  is  covered  by  a 
long  towel  in  our  honor.  At  one  end  is  a bowl  of  man- 
dioc  flour  and  at  the  other  a dish  of  boiled  black  beans. 
Another  dish  contains  boiled  sundried  beef  and  slices 
of  fat  pork,  and  a larger  platter  is  heaped  with  vege- 
tables. Help  yourself  to  beans,  and  sprinkle  over  them 
a couple  of  spoons  full  of  madioc  flour.  Have  some 
vegetables  and  a chunk  of  meat.  There  is  plenty  for  all, 
so  don’t  be  afraid  to  take  your  share.  For  dessert 
we  have  squash  baked  in  honey  and  served  with  milk. 
It  is  really  delicious.  Last  of  all  comes  the  inevitable 
cup  of  coffee. 

This  home  is  typical.  In  none  of  the  country 
houses  do  we  find  what  an  American  calls  comforts. 
The  house  may  be  larger,  may  have  a floor  and  be 
better  built;  the  furniture  may  be  more  carefully  made 
and  the  food  more  varied,  but  in  them  all  we  find 
the  same  simplicity  and  lack  of  comfort  and  orna- 
ment. Many  a rich  man  lives  in  a house  no  better 
than  the  one  we  have  entered,  and  the  extremely  poor 
live  in  hovels  that  would  not  serve  as  cattle  sheds  in 
the  central  and  northern  parts  of  the  United  States* 

Leader  now  resumes. 

You  will  now  be  interested  to  hear  what  the  gos- 
pel did  for  one  of  these  Brazilian  homes*  

will  tell  us. 

* Adapted  from  material  furnished  by  Rev.  Ashmun  C.  Salley. 

t See  “Why  a Man  of  Sixty  Learned  to  Read”  in  “Latin 
American  Stories,”  compiled  by  George  H,  Trull, 


74 


Leader  now  resumes. 

Before  we  leave  Brazil  we  want  to  know  about 
the  beginning  of  Protestant  Missions  and  the 
growth  of  our  own  Presbyterian  missionary  work 
there.  Suppose  we  put  these  dates  on  the  blackboard 
in  this  way. 


PROTESTANTISM  IN  BRAZIL 
1555 — Huguenots  land  in  Rio 
1859 — Northern  Presbyterians  enter 
1869 — Southern  Presbyterians  enter 
1888 — Northern  and  Southern  Presbyterians 
unite  in  Synod  of  Brazil 
1903 — Independent  Presbyterian  Church 
founded 

1910 — First  General  Assembly  of  National 
Brazilian  Presbyterian  Church  held 


As  you  sail  into  the  harbor  of  Rio  you  will  no- 
tice a small  rocky  island.  On  this  there  landed  in 
1555  the  first  Protestants,  some  Huguenots  from 
France.  They  held  a prayer  meeting  and  settled 
near  by.  They  were  persecuted  by  the  Roman 
Catholics  and  scattered. 

Now7  let's  locate  on  the  map*  our  Stations  in 
Brazil  in  the  order  of  their  founding,  first  in  the 
Southern  Brazil  Mission  and  then  in  Central  Brazil. 

In  Brazil  there  are  36  Presbyterian  missionaries. 
We  have  two  principal  Missions,  Southern  Brazil 
and  Central  Brazil,  in  each  of  which  there  are  7 
Stations  and  many  mission  outstations.t 

* Use  large  Outline  Latin  American  Wall  Map.  Price  20 
cents,  prepaid.  See  Key  Map  at  end  of  book. 

t These  figures  are  for  1916.  Consult  later  Keports  for  cur- 
rent statistics. 


75 


Southern  Brazil  Mission 

Sao  Paulo  (1863),  a thriving  city  in  the  state  of 
the  same  name,  300  miles  S.  W.  of  Rio  de  Janeiro. 
Here  is  located  Mackenzie  College  and  the  prepara- 
tory school,  and  strong  National  and  Independent 
Presbyterian  Churches. 

Curityba  (1885),  i*1  the  state  of  Parana  where 
is  our  splendid  Eschola  Americana  and  strong  Na- 
tional and  Independent  Presbyterian  Churches. 

Castro  (1895)  in  the  state  of  Parana.  Here  is 
our  industrial  school  for  girls  and  boys,  opened  in 
1915.  We  have  also  a flourishing  church  here. 

Guar-a-pu-ava  (1908),  a far  interior  town  in  the 
state  of  Parana,  way  off  from  modern  civilization. 

Campinas  (1910),  in  the  state  of  Sao  Paulo,  in 
the  centre  of  the  coffee  district,  about  50  miles  from 
Sao  Paulo.  Here  is  located  the  theological  semi- 
nary in  which  we  unite  with  the  Southern  Presby- 
terian and  the  National  Presbyterian  Churches. 

Matto  Grosso  Field  (1912).  This  state  is  the 
great  forest  region  of  interior  Brazil  and  conditions 
are  very  primitive. 

Ponta  Grossa  (1913),  a railroad  centre  about 
50  miles  south  of  Castro. 

Central  Brazil  Mission 

Bahia  (1871),  the  oldest  city  in  Brazil  and  the 
residence  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Archbishop. 

Villa  Nova  (1900),  250  miles  N.  E.  of  Bahia. 

Estancia  (1902),  a port  180  miles  N.  E.  of  Bahia. 

Ponte  Nova  (1906).  Here  is  located  our  indus- 
trial farm  school. 


76 


Caetete  (1909),  400  miles  in  the  interior  from 
Bahia.  Here  we  have  a school  for  boys  and  girls. 
There  has  been  much  opposition  from  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church,  but  in  spite  of  it,  encouraging 
growth.  This  field  covers  an  area  of  50,000  square 
miles. 

Some  one  may  ask,  “Why  do  we  send  Protestant 
missionaries  to  Brazil  ?”  If  we  had  any  one  of  our 
missionaries  with  us  to-day,  I am  sure  he  or  she 
would  be  glad  to  answer  that  question.  The  next 
best  thing  to  a missionary  is  a message  directly 
from  him.  So  here  it  is  from  Rev.  R.  F.  Lening- 
ton  of  our  South  Brazil  Mission.  Maybe  it  will 
help  answer  the  question. 


Note:  Someone  before  appointed  now  comes  to  the  platform 
and  tells  in  his  own  words  the  following: 

There  are  many  shrines  of  favorite  miracle-work- 
ing saints  in  Brazil,  and  in  all  of  them  you  will  find  a 
chamber  of  horrors.  People  go  to  the  shrines,  afflicted 
with  various  maladies.  They  make  a vow  to  the  image 
that  if  they  are  healed,  they  will  have  made  a waxen 
figure  of  the  part  of  the  body  cured  and  give  it  to  the 
saint.  So  you  will  find  a room  lined  with  shelves,  and 
on  these  rows  and  rows  of  waxen  heads,  feet,  ears, 
eyes,  limbs  or  any  other  part  of  the  body,  arrayed  to 
contribute  to  the  prestige  of  the  great  miracle-worker. 
Some  of  these  images  are  absolutely  shapeless  figures, 
which  are  reported  to  have  fallen  from  heaven,  and 
hence  are  treated  with  the  greatest  respect  and  visited 
by  the  highest  dignitaries  of  the  church,  who  grace  the 
idolatrous  worship  given  these  images. 

Some  of  the  most  famous  life-size  images,  after 
standing  in  the  dust  of  the  great  church  during  an 
entire  year,  are  carefully  washed  at  the  time  of  the 
annual  festival.  This  water,  used  for  the  bath,  is  very 
carefully  saved,  and  retailed  to  the  pilgrims  at  twenty- 
five  cents  a bottle.  They  carry  away  the  bottles,  and 


77 


when  there  is  sickness  in  the  home,  a spoonful  is  given 
to  the  afflicted,  to  cure  them,  or  the  bottle  is  laid  on 
the  breast  of  the  dying,  that  the  soul  may  have  a bless- 
ing as  it  wings  its  flight. 

Leader  now  resumes. 

The  story  of  “The  Scare  Crow  Image”*  is  one 

you  might  like  to  hear  in  this  connection.  

will  tell  us. 

Leader  resumes. 

As  a further  answer  to  the  question  why  we 
send  missionaries  to  Brazil,  listen  to  statements  by 
Rev.  George  Landes,  who  has  spent  many  years  in 
Brazil,  and  by  Miss  Nannie  Henderson: 

“Not  long  ago  a Roman  Catholic  priest  was  in  a 
drinking  place  in  a village  near  the  city  of  Sao  Paulo, 
Brazil.  Here  he  met  a young  man,  an  Englishman, 
whom  he  knew.  This  young  man  takes  no  interest  in 
any  religion,  but  he  said  he  was  shocked  and  disgusted 
at  the  procedure  of  this  priest. 

“He  had  invited  the  priest  to  take  a drink  of  some 
sort,  which  the  priest  accepted,  and  then  said:  ‘I  can’t 
reciprocate  this  until  I go  and  baptize  some  children 
nearby/  He  excused  himself  and  went  out.  In  about 
half  an  hour  he  returned,  and  as  he  entered  the  saloon 
he  held  up  his  hand,  filled  with  bank  notes  amounting 
to  about  thirty-five  dollars,  remarking:  ‘A  pretty  easy 
and  quick  way  of  making  money,  by  giving  souls  to  ten 
or  twelve  children/ 

“They  tell  the  ignorant  people  that  a child  has  no 
soul  until  it  is  baptized.” 

“Babies  are  usually  brought  for  baptism  on  the 
eighth  day.  They  are  sprinkled  with  holy  water, 
signed  by  the  cross,  salt  and  spittle  from  the  priest’s 
lips  is  put  into  the  mouth  and  his  breath  breathed  into 
their  nostrils  to  give  them  a living  soul.  If  they  die 
before  this  ceremony  takes  place,  their  little  bodies  are 
buried  in  an  unconsecrated  comer  of  the  cemetery,  and 
their  souls  supposed  to  be  in  limbo.  When  death  ap- 

* See  “Latin  American  Stories,”  compiled  by  George  H.  Trull. 

78 


proaches,  the  ignorant  people  frequently  take  the  dying 
from  their  rude  beds  and  lay  them  on  a rude  mat  or 
on  the  ground,  to  breathe  their  last,  placing  candles  in 
their  hands  to  light  their  way  through  the  dark  valley  ” 

Leader  resumes. 

Our  missionaries  in  fourteen  Stations  and  in 
more  than  one  hundred  out-stations  are  preaching 
the  gospel  faithfully  to  the  people  of  Brazil.  Some 
of  them  are  in  the  great  cities,  some  of  them  are  far 
off  in  the  interior,  hundreds  of  miles  from  the  coast. 
One  of  them  located  at  Caetete,  returning  recently 
from  furlough  traveled  during  nine  months  2,100 
miles  on  horseback  and  preached  in  fifty  different 
places.  In  some  twelve  of  these,  Sunday  School  or 
other  services  are  regularly  held.  Our  missionaries 
are  seeking  in  our  schools  to  train  girls  and  boys, 
and  young  men  and  women  to  become  true  follow- 
ers of  Jesus  Christ.  How  well  they  are  succeeding, 
the  large  poster*  on  the  wall,  which  gives  some  sta- 
tistics of  our  work  in  Brazil,  will  show. 

But  you  want  to  know  some  things  that  these 
figures  do  not  reveal.  So  I shall  tell  you  about  two 
of  our  schools,  the  American  School  in  Curityba 
and  the  Christian  Institute  of  Practical  Arts  at 
Castro. 

The  American  School  was  organized  in  1892, 
and  started  in  a building  that  had  been  used 
formerly  as  a beer  factory,  a soap  factory  and  a 
ball  room.  It  was  here  that  Dom  Pedro  II,  the 
Emperor  of  Brazil,  the  Empress  and  their  daughter 
the  Princess  Isabel,  held  a grand  reception,  and 


Enlarge  to  poster  size  the  statistics  found  on  page  102. 
79 


gave  presents  to  a number  of  children.  Some  of 
these  same  children  grown  to  manhood  and 
womanhood  were  among  those  to  enter  their  chil- 
dren in  the  American  School  when  it  first  started. 
It  was  not  long  before  170  pupils  were  enrolled, 
twenty  of  them  as  boarders.  One  of  the  finest 
things  about  the  school  is  the  fact  that  so  many  of 
its  pupils  have  become  Christian  teachers.  The 
Report  for  1915  says  that  one  of  the  classes  has 
been  “banner  class”  for  three  years,  and  that  only  a 
very  severe  tropical  storm  or  illness  will  keep  the 
girls  and  boys  away.  These  pupils  add,  subtract, 
multiply  and  divide  so  rapidly  that  it  is  difficult  to 
keep  up  with  them. 

I wonder  if  they  could  beat  any  of  you  at  men- 
tal arithmetic?  Two  of  the  former  pupils  of  the 
school  are  now  preaching  the  gospel,  one  the  son  of 
one  of  our  missionaries,  and  the  other  the  son  of  a 
man  who  was  once  a priest  but  was  converted  to 
Protestantism  and  became  a Presbyterian  minister. 
Literally  hundreds  of  pupils  have  come  under  the 
influence  of  this  school,  the  largest  number  in  any 
one  year  being  462.  You  will  be  glad  to  know  that 
plans  are  now  well  under  way  for  its  enlargement 
and  improvement.  Keep  your  ears  open  for  future 
news  from  the  American  School  at  Curityba. 

From  Curityba,  let  us  go  to  Castro,  a few  hours’ 
ride  by  rail  to  the  north.  Here  we  find  a school  in 
the  making.  It  is  on  a ranch  of  six  hundred  acres. 
It  w*as  started  only  in  1915  and  the  boys  have  put 
up  practically  all  of  the  buildings,  made  all  of  the 
furniture,  have  cut  down  the  trees  and  planted  the 


80 


crops.  At  first,  dry  goods  boxes  and  patent  spring 
boards  served  as  beds. 

The  school  at  Castro  is  a character  builder  and 
pupils  are  put  on  their  honor.  This  is  a new  idea 
to  Brazilian  girls  and  boys.  If  discipline  is  neces- 
sary, punishment  is  related  to  the  offence.  Study 
and  work  are  treated  as  privileges.  If  a pupil  is 
unfaithful  at  his  work,  he  is  denied  the  privilege 
of  work.  If  he  is  careless  in  his  studies,  he  is  not 
allowed  to  go  to  the  class  room.  Sincerity  and  hon- 
esty are  demanded  and  it  is  very  encouraging  to  see 
the  way  all  respond  to  the  trust  that  is  put  in  them. 

.Soon  after  the  school  started,  practically  every 
boy,  without  any  suggestion  from  the  missionary, 
bought  a Bible.  Two  of  the  boys  who  had  known 
almost  nothing  of  the  gospel  before  coming  to  the 
school,  wrote,  after  two  months,  compositions  in 
which  you  would  be  interested.  This  is  what  one 
said : 


“A  good  friend  should  be  a Christian..  He  should 
not  harbor  in  his  heart  any  vice.  He  should  be  neither 
a hypocrite  nor  a deceiver.  When  he  errs  he  should 
repent  and  ask  that  God  forgive  him  and  strengthen 
him  that  he  may  not  be  a stumubling  block  to  his 
fellows.” 

The  son  of  the  rich  ex-May  or  of  Castro  is  a 
pupil.  Before  coming  to  the  school,  he  had  never 
done  a stroke  of  work  in  his  life,  but  had  servants 
at  his  beck  and  call.  He,  with  the  son  of  another 
well-to-do-man,  went  out  in  the  woods,  cut  down 
timber,  hauled  it  in  with  an  ox-team  and  raised  it 
up  for  the  workshop.  This  boy  writes: 


81 


“I  have  now  worked  at  many  different  things  and 
come  to  know  that  work  is  useful  and  later  will  be  of 

great  value  to  us I know  many  who  get  married 

and  don’t  even  know  how  to  split  wood  till  the  wife 
teaches  them.” 

Another  fifteen-year-old  lad,  who  has  a sense  of 
humor,  wrote  thus  on  the  subject  “Why  I should 
get  an  education” : 

“The  first  thing  I have  to  say  is  they  sent  me  to 
school  that  I might  not  be  like  that  animal  with  long 
ears,  I forget  his  name.  It  is  the  one  that  when  you 
ask  for  his  head,  he  gives  you  his  heels.  The  first  day 
I went  to  school,  I arrived,  sat  myself  down  and  said 
to  my  buttons,  ‘What  do  they  come  here  to  do?’  Why 
should  I educate  myself?  That  I may  be  a man  some 
day.  But  it  is  necessary  to  note  well  this  phrase — be 
a man.  To  be  grown  up,  have  a beard,  is  also  to  be 
a man.  But  to  be  a good  man,  to  be  honest  and  sincere, 
this  does  not  come  from  knowing  how  to  read.  This 
depends  upon  the  character  of  the  person.  How  many 
know  how  to  read  and  are  yet  rascals  worse  than 
cats  after  rats  ?” 

The  School  of  Practical  Arts  at  Castro  is  the 
only  one  of  its  kind  in  all  southern  Brazil.  Already 
it  has  become  so  popular  that  many  applicants  for 
admission  have  to  be  turned  away  for  lack  of  room. 
There  is  urgent  need  for  more  teachers  and  more 
buildings.  It  is  a Christian  school,  two-thirds*  of 
the  pupils  are  Christians,  and  four*  of  them  are 
planning  to  become  ministers  of  the  gospel. 

We  have  at  Ponte  Nova  in  the  north,  another 
industrial  school  and  in  all  Brazil  nine  schools  with 
more  than  five  hundred  pupils,  in  addition  to  Mac- 
Kenzie  College  at  Sao  Paulo  in  which  we  have  a 
deep  interest.  There  are  thousands  of  girls  and 

* 1915.  For  latest  statistics,  see  current  Reports. 

82 


boys  within  the  regions  where  we  are  working 
who  need  Christian  education.  They  need  to  learn 
too  of  the  Living  Christ. 

Far  off  in  the  interior  are  those  scores  of  tribes 
of  Indians  among  whom  dwells  no  messenger  of 
Christ.  Who,  in  the  Sunday  Schools  of  the  home 
land,  will  accept  the  challenge  of  their  ignorance 
and  their  need,  and  take  to  them  the  message  of  the 
gospel  ? 


83 


VENEZUELA 

Every  girl  and  boy  here  knows  who  discovered 
America,  don’t  you?  (Christopher  Columbus.) 
Where  did  he  first  land  on  American  soil?  (On 
the  island  of  San  Salvador  in  the  West  Indies.) 
Who  knows  who  discovered  South  America?  (Yes, 
Christopher  Columbus,  too.  It  was  on  his  third 
voyage.)  Do  you  know  what  part  of  South 
America  he  first  sighted?  (Draw  out  reply, 
Venezuela.)  It  was  on  August  i,  1498. 

In  the  following  year,  Ojeda,  a Spanish  ex- 
plorer, sailed  along  more  of  the  coast  and  into  the 
gulf  of  Maracaibo.  He  named  the  country  Venez- 
uela— Little  Venice — because  the  houses  of  the 
Indians,  built  on  piles  along  the  shore,  reminded 
him  of  Venice  in  Italy. 

As  you  see  by  the  map,  Venezuela  lies  on  the 
northern  coast  of  South  America,  its  shores  washed 
by  the  Caribbean  Sea.  It  has  good  sea  ports,  splen- 
did fertile  soil,  dense  forests  and  rich  mines.  Its 
area  is  398,594  square  miles,  almost  the  combined 
area  of  France  and  Spain  in  1915.  In  Venezuela 
you  could  place  all  of  the  New  England,  Middle 
Atlantic,  and  Southern  Atlantic  States,  excluding 
Virginia,  and  still  have  almost  enough  land  left 
over  to  locate  another  Massachusetts.  The  popu- 
lation in  1910,  of  the  states  mentioned,  was  nearly 
thirteen  times  greater  than  that  of  Venezuela’s. 


85 


The  eye  needs  to  catch  these  facts  as  well  as  the 
ear,  so  here  is  a chart  which  may  help  us.*  There 
is  plenty  of  room  in  Venezuela,  only  seven  people 
to  the  square  mile.  If  Venezuela’s  population  were 
as  dense  as  that  of  Rhode  Island  in  1910,  it  would 
have  202,685,049  inhabitants,  or  more  than  double 
the  population  of  the  whole  United  States  in  1915. 

Venezuela  is  of  interest  not  only  because  its 
shores  were  those  first  discovered  in  South  Ameri- 
ca, but  also  because  it  was  the  first  of  the  South 
American  colonies  to  declare  its  independence  of 
Spain.  Suppose  we  put  these  facts  upon  the  black- 
board and  in  our  note-books  in  some  such  way  as 
this: 


VENEZUELA 

First  Country  of  South  America 
To  Be  Discovered 
To  Declare  Independence 


Why  do  you  suppose  Venezuela  wanted  to  be 
independent?  (Draw  out  replies,  commending  all 
you  can,  and  then  enumerate  on  the  blackboard.) 

1st.  Spain’s  cruel  and  despotic  treatment.  Her 
policy  was  to  keep  her  colonies  in  complete  sub- 
jection, give  them  no  voice  in  their  government, 
and  to  exploit  them  for  her  own  enrichment.  Do 
you  wonder  they  rebelled? 

* Show  an  enlargement  of  the  chart  on  page  104,  which  gives 
the  comparative  areas  and  population  of  Venezuela  and  the  states 
mentioned. 


86 


Then  up  in  North  America  there  had  been  a tea 
party  to  which  the  Venezuelans  had  not  been  in- 
vited, but  about  which  they  heard  later,  and  I think 
you  have  heard  of  it  too.  Can  you  tell  me  where  it 
was  held?  (Draw  out  reply:  The  Boston  Tea 
Party.)  This  Boston  Tea  Party  led  to  what  on 
July  4,  1 776?  (Draw  out  reply:  The  Declaration 
of  Independence.)  And  this  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence led  to  what?  (Draw  reply:  The  Revolu- 
tionary War.)  Which  was  successful  for  the  col- 
onies. So  let  us  put  on  the  blackboard  the  second 
thing  that  influenced  the  Venezuelan  patriots. 

2d.  The  Success  of  the  American  Revolution 
of  1776.  Those  of  you  who  are  studying  European 
history  will  remember  that  closely  following  the 
American  Revolution  there  was  another,  in  Europe. 
Can  you  tell  me  in  what  country?  (Draw  reply: 
France.)  So  let  us  put  on  the  blackboard  a third 
thing  which  influenced  the  Venezuelan  patriots. 

3d.  The  success  following  the  French  Revolu- 
tion of  1789.  Then  there  was  a fourth  thing  that 
happened  in  Spain  that  helped  the  cause  of  liberty 
in  Venezuela. 

4th.  The  dethronement  of  Ferdinand  VII,  King 
of  Spain,  by  Napoleon,  in  1808, 

It  was  on  April  19,  1810,  that  Simon  Bolivar  and 
others  forming  the  Council  of  Caracas,  declared 
that  they  would  no  longer  recognize  the  regency 
of  Spain,  and  that  Venezuela  “in  virtue  of  its  nat- 
ural and  political  right,  would  proceed  to  the  for- 
mation of  a government  of  its  own.”  Their  thought 
was  that  they  would  exercise  independent  govern- 

87 


ment  until  the  restoration  of  Ferdinand  to  the 
throne  of  Spain,  when  they  hoped  to  receive  from 
him  some  recognition  of  rights  which  before  had 
been  denied.  But  in  this  they  were  disappointed, 
for  Ferdinand  attempted  to  restore  the  same  old 
policy  of  repression  and  cruelty.  This  led  there- 
fore on  July  5,  1811,  to  Venezuela’s  complete  and 
formal  declaration  of  independence.  Notice  the 
date.  How  close  is  the  day  of  the  month  to  our 
own  national  birthday?  (Draw  out  reply:  the 
next  day,  July  5th.)  And  1811  is  how  many  years 
after  1776?  (Draw  reply:  35.)  Let’s  put  it  on  the 
blackboard  and  in  note-books  in  this  way: 


NATIONAL  BIRTHDAYS 
U.  S.  A.,  July  4,  1776 
Venezuela,  July  5,  1811 


This  declaration  of  independence  by  Venezuela 
is  important  not  only  because  of  what  it  meant  to 
that  one  land,  but  to  all  the  other  countries  of  South 
America  as  well.  It  was  the  kindling  of  a fire  which 
swept  over  the  whole  continent.  Every  one  here 
knows  the  name  of  our  great  Revolutionary  hero, 
George  Washington.  How  many  of  you  know  the 
name  of  Venezuela’s  great  hero?  It  is  Simon 
Bolivar.  He  was  a native  Venezuelan,  born  in  Car- 
acas in  1783. 

You  will  want  to  know  something  more  about 
Bolivar  and  so will  now  tell  us. 


88 


Note:  Some  one  before  appointed  will  now  come  to  the  plat- 
form and  give  a brief  sketch  of  Bolivar. 

One  of  the  foremost  names  connected  with  the 
struggle  for  independence  in  South  America  is  that  of 
Simon  Bolivar.  He  was  born  at  Caracas,  in  Vene- 
zuela in  1783,  just  seven  years  after  the  declaration 
of  independence  on  the  part  of  the  colonies  in  North 
America.  Spain  had  been  very  tyrannical  in  her  treat- 
ment of  her  colonies  in  South  America.  The  result 
was  dissatisfaction  and  finally  rebellion. 

It  was  in  1810  that  the  patriots  in  Venezuela  de- 
manded that  the  Spanish  officials  resign,  asserting  “the 
right  of  the  provinces  of  America  to  rule  themselves.” 
In  the  following  year,  on  July  5,  the  flag  of  the  United 
Provinces  of  Venezuela  was  first  flung  to  the  breeze. 

Bolivar  was  the  leading  spirit  among  the  patriots. 
He  had  two  great  ambitions,  one  to  free  his  country, 
and  the  other  to  get  for  himself  all  the  glory  of  doing 
it.  He  loved  to  picture  himself  as  a popular  hero,  as 
it  fed  his  vanity.  After  some  reverses  in  battle  with 
the  Spanish  troops,  he  entered  Caracas  on  August  6, 
1813,  and  was  hailed  as  ’’Liberator”  and  “Savior  of 
Venezuela.” 

He  ordered  that  over  the  entrance  to  all  the  public 
offices  this  inscription  should  be  placed,  “Bolivar,  Lib- 
erator of  Venezuela.”  But  the  Spanish  power  was  not 
yet  completely  broken,  and  within  a year  it  had  scat- 
tered the  forces  of  the  patriots.  Bolivar,  who  a few 
months  before  had  been  hailed  as  liberator,  was  now 
conspired  against  and  denounced  as  traitor.  At  just 
such  a crisis,  he  showed  his  determination  and  con- 
fidence. In  an  address  to  the  people  he  said,  “I  swear 
to  you  that  this  title  (Liberator),  which  your  gratitude 
bestowed  upon  me  when  I broke  your  chains  shall  not 
be  in  vain.  I swear  to  you  that  Liberator  or  dead,  I 
shall  ever  merit  the  honor  you  have  done  me ; no 
human  power  can  turn  me  from  my  course.”  His  faith 
in  his  cause  led  him  to  declare  in  1816,  “The  day  of 
America  has  come.  No  human  power  can  stay  the 
course  of  Nature  guided  by  Providence.  Before  the 
sun  has  again  run  its  annual  course,  altars  to  Liberty 
will  arise  throughout  your  land.” 

As  a general,  he  inspired  his  soldiers  to  heroic 
labors  by  his  own  example.  Wherever  there  were  dif- 
ficulties to  be  overcome,  he  was  there  to  meet  them 
with  a resolution  that  did  not  falter.  After  varying 
fortunes,  Bolivar  won  a decisive  victory  over  the  Span- 

89 


ish  arms  and  secured  the  independence  of  what  is  now 
Colombia,  then  known  as  New  Granada.  His  ambition 
was  to  unite  in  one  republic  all  the  northern  part  of 
South  America  and  to  hold  the  presidency  of  it  for  life. 
“Strange  paradox  of  a patriot  fighting  for  political  lib- 
erty and  representative  government,  and  at  the  same 
time  coveting  for  himself  all  the  privileges  of  a king.”* 
In  1821  Bolivar  was  able  to  fulfil  his  pledge  to  his 
countrymen  of  Venezuela  to  deserve  the  title  of  “The 
Liberator”  or  to  die  in  the  attempt.  He  entered  Cara- 
cas in  triumph.  He  continued  his  struggle  against  the 
Spanish  power  in  Venezuela,  Colombia  and  Peru.  Dur- 
ing a period  of  twenty  years  he  engaged  in  four  hun- 
dred battles  and  won  the  freedom  of  the  northern  part 
of  South  America.  Referring  to  his  inability  to  unite 
in  one  the  northern  republics,  he  said : “I  have  plowed 
in  the  sand.” 

“Independence  is  the  only  good  thing  we  have 
gained  by  the  sacrifice  of  all  else,”  was  his  statement 
in  his  last  public  address.  Pensioned  by  the  govern- 
ment, he  spent  his  last  days  in  the  country,  and  died  in 
1830  at  the  age  of  forty-seven.f 

Leader  now  resumes. 

Though  Venezuela  started  well  in  being  the  first 
to  declare  her  independence,  she  has  not  continued 
to  be  a leader  of  progress  in  South  America.  In 
fact  she  shares  with  Colombia,  Ecuador  and  Bo- 
livia the  distinction  of  being  among  the  most  back- 
ward of  all  the  countries  of  the  southern  continent. 
Though  near  our  own  shores  of  North  America, 
there  has  been  little  contact  with  us. 

Immigration  has  largely  passed  her  by,  which 
in  large  measure,  in  connection  with  the  influence 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  accounts  for  her 
lack  of  progress.  It  is  said  that  Venezuela’s  popu- 
lation is  decreasing  instead  of  increasing.  Its  death 

* “Makers  of  South  America,”  by  Margarette  Daniels. 

t Abridged  account  of  Bolivar  based  on  sketch  in  “Makers  of 
South  America.” 


90 


rate  is  about  the  maximum  of  any  other  civilized 
state  and  its  birth  rate  is  the  lowest.  “Venezuela 
loses  annually  14,000  inhabitants  whose  lives  might 
be  saved  by  wise  sanitary  legislation.”* 

In  view  of  these  conditions  in  V enezuela  do  you 
think  it  is  a proper  field  for  Protestant  missions? 
If  you  are  doubtful,  suppose  we  listen  to  a state- 
ment from  the  Archbishop  of  Caracas,  as  to  the 
character  of  the  priests  who  for  so  long  have  been 
the  only  spiritual  guides  the  people  of  Venezuela 
have  had.  (A  choice  of  statements  is  given  below 
according  to  what  is  best  adapted  to  your  school.) 

Note:  Some  adult  member  of  the  school  now  reads: 

“Why  does  ignorance  of  religion  continue  to  brutal- 
ize and  degrade  more  and  more  these  people?  Why 
exist  so  many  parishes  which  are  true  cemeteries  of 
souls  dead  to  God,  in  despite  of  the  fact  that  there 
stands  the  church  edifice,  there  is  Jesus  Christ  in  the 
Sacrament  Adorable,  there  is  the  priest  with  his  mar- 
velous powers  to  sanctify  the  soul?  The  only  reason 
is  that  the  parish  priest  does  not  faithfully  perform  his 
duties,  he  does  not  lay  hold  upon  and  generously 
shoulder  the  charge  he  has  accepted,  and,  as  many 
Christians  who  take  of  the  Gospel  only  so  much  as 
suits  them,  so  he  takes  up  only  those  duties  which  do 
not  trouble  him  much, — more  than  all,  those  that  produce 
most  income.  They  do  not  preach,  or,  if  so,  it  is  only 
to  tire  and  annoy  the  few  hearers.  What  living  word 
could  come  from  a sacerdotal  soul  dead  to  the  palpita- 
tions of  the  grace  and  the  activity  of  pastoral  zeal? 
There  is  no  catechism  class — and  if  there  is,  it  is  in 
this  sense : that  this  work  is  for  the  priest,  a dis- 
agreeable task,  for  which  he  has  neither  intelligence  nor 
heart,  and  which  he  ends  by  handing  it  over  to  the 
school  or  to  the  women ! Service,  attention  and  care 
and  frequent  visiting  of  the  sick,  in  order  to  lead  them 
as  by  the  hand  to  the  gates  of  eternity,  is  an  unknown 

* Dr.  Razetti,  Rector  of  Central  University  of  Caracas  quoted 
by  Mrs.  T.  S.  Pond  in  leaflet  “Venezuela  and  Its  Needs,”  page  6. 


91 


thing  to  him.  Poor  sick  ones  that  fall  into  the  hands 
of  such  priests!  And  this,  when  they  do  not  abandon 
the  sufferers  entirely  under  any  mere  pretext  to  escape 
going  to  their  aid  in  their  extremity  supreme.  And  we 
will  not  say  more,  for  we  should  be  interminable,  if 
we  were  to  enumerate  everything. 

“We  have  now  completed  a grave  duty;  we  have 
said  what  was  necessary  in  view  of  the  spiritual  dis- 
asters which  here  and  there  too  often  appear  in  our 
clergy;  we  feel  the  relief  of  one  who  has  lightened  his 
shoulders  of  a heavy  load ; this  load  was  the  necessity 
of  pointing  out  the  sins  which  undermine  our  Church 
and  weaken  the  power  of  the  priesthood.  Easily  may 
our  words  meet  with  hardness  and  blindness,  which 
form  the  most  formidable  judgment  that  God  exercises, 
even  in  this  world,  against  the  priest  who  goes  astray; 
we  have  thought  this  over  well,  and  our  prayer  before 
the  Lord  has  been  intense  and  prolonged  that  He  w’ould 
penetrate  this  darkness  with  His  light,  and  that  where 
sin  has  long  abounded,  grace  may  much  more  abound 
to  salvation.” 

— El  Constitutional,  Dec.  7,  1908. 

Quoted  by  E.  E.  Speer  in  South  American  Problems,  pp  161, 

162. 


Alternative  Statement 

Note:  Someone  before  appointed  now  comes  to  the  platform 
and  says : 


I could  read  you  the  exact  words  of  the  arch- 
bishop, for  they  are  here  before  me,  but  I believe  you 
do  not  care  to  listen  to  a long  letter,  so  I am  just  going 
to  pick  out  some  extracts  and  tell  you  in  my  own  words 
what  he  says. 

First,  he  is  very  much  disgusted  with  the  priests, 
because  instead  of  helping  the  needy  people  of  their 
parishes  as  true  ministers  of  Christ,  they  seek  to  do 
as  little  as  they  can  and  only  the  things  that  will  bring 
them  money. 

Second,  the  failure  of  the  priests  to  instruct  the 
people  leaves  them  ignorant  and  degraded. 

Third,  the  Archbishop  declares  that  he  is  praying 
earnestly  that  God  would  send  light  into  Venezuela’s 
darkness. 


92 


Leader  now  resumes. 

How  the  prayer  of  the  Archbishop  for  light  to 
penetrate  this  darkness  is  being  partially  answered, 
we  shall  now  hear. 

Beginning  of  Protestant  Mission  Work 

In  1897  two  of  our  Presbyterian  missionaries, 
who  had  been  laboring  in  Colombia,  Rev.  and  Mrs. 
T.  S.  Pond,  went  to  Caracas,  the  capital  of  Ven- 
ezuela, to  begin  work  in  this  centre  of  75,000  popu- 
lation. These  devoted  missionaries  have  been  there 
ever  since.*  At  the  time  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pond  en- 
tered Venezuela,  there  was  no  other  Mission  Board 
doing  any  work  in  the  entire  country.  An  agent  of 
the  American  Bible  Society  had  held  services  more 
or  less  regularly,  and  the  Methodist  Church  South 
had  done  some  work  previously  but  had  abandoned 
it. 

Much  opposition  was  encountered  at  first  and  it 
was  very  difficult  to  rent  any  place  in  which  to  hold 
services,  for  landlords  are  chary  of  Protestants.  In 
the  first  thirteen  years,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pond  were 
obliged  to  move  six  different  times.  “No  one  who 
has  not  had  the  same  experience,”  she  says,  “can 
imagine  the  hopeless  feeling  when  one  sets  out  to 
hunt  for  a place  m which  to  preach  the  gospel.  We 
have  walked  the  streets  for  weeks — I might  say 
months — in  search  of  a hall  suitable  for  a chapel.” 

After  three  years’  work  a small  group  of  believ- 
ers was  organized  into  a church.  A Sunday  School 
and  a day  school  were  organized,  the  latter  develop- 

* Written  in  1916.  For  latest  statistics  of  the  work,  see  cur- 
rent Keports. 


93 


ing  later  into  a High  School  for  Girls  and  Young 
Women.  Boys  are  admitted  into  the  elementary 
department. 

In  1912  the  work  at  Caracas  was  recognized  as 
a regular  Mission  Station. 

At  present  we  have  in  all  of  Venezuela  with 
a territory  as  big  as  France  and  Spain  in  1915, 
just  four  missionaries,  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Pond,  who 
have  seen  48  years  of  missionary  service;  Rev.  and 
Mrs.  Frederick  F.  Darley,  who  were  appointed  in 
1912,  and  two  others  who  are  under  appointment  to 
go  out  early  in  1917.* 

We  have  just  one  station  in  the  whole  country, 
located  at  Caracas  with  one  group  of  67  communi- 
cants meeting  in  our  little  church.  Associated  with 
them  is  one  ordained  Venezuelan  worker  and  one  un- 
ordained, four  women  teachers  and  four  Bible 
women  or  other  workers, — a Venezuelan  force  of  ten 
altogether.* 

There  are  200  adherents  reported  and  two  Sun- 
day Schools  with  a membership  of  75.  In  the 
school  last  year*  there  were  46  day  pupils  and  5 
boarders.  Twenty-one  were  added  to  the  church 
roll  during  the  year.* 

These  are  the  statistics  of  the  Venezuela  Mis- 
sion. It  is  the  smallest  Mission  of  our  Presbyterian 
Church  in  all  the  world.  The  only  other  Mission 
Boards  besides  ours  at  work  in  Venezuela  are  the 
Christian  and  Missionary  Alliance,  and  a British  so- 
ciety, known  as  Christian  Missions  in  Many  Lands. 

In  the  recent  Report  for  1915  is  this  challeng- 

* Figures  for  fiscal  year  closing  March  31,  1916.  For  later 
statistics  consult  current  Reports. 


94 


ing  statement  of  our  Missionaries:  “We  like  to  call 
it  the  Venezuelan  Mission  although  it  is  really  not 
more  than  a Station,  because  we  are  always  living 
in  hopes  that  we  may  spread  out  some  day.” 

Can  you  shut  your  eyes  and  see  those  four  repre- 
sentatives of  ours  in  Caracas?  the  aged  servants  of 
the  Lord  who  have  spent  nearly  half  a century  in 
missionary  service,  and  the  young  servants  of  the 
same  Lord  who  are  just  beginning  their  mission- 
ary career?  How  do  you  think  they  felt  when 
“Padre”  Maldonado  proved  faithless?  This  is  the 
story  as  they  recount  it”  Mr. will  tell  us. 

“We  had  great  hopes  of  ‘Padre’  Malonado  as  he 
is  called,  who  left  the  Catholic  Church  some  time  ago, 
and  really  seemed  to  believe,  for  he  wrote  out  a very 
fine  confession  of  faith,  and  preached  very  evangelical 
sermons.  He  was  put  into  jail  for  not  taking  off  his 
hat  when  the  dead  Archbishop  passed  by  sitting  up  in 
his  coffin.  He  was  very  badly  treated.  Then  the 
Ponds  did  about  everything  they  could  think  of  for 
him  when  he  got  out.  Then  Maldonado  began  to  ask 
for  about  everything  that  he  wanted,  and  not  finding 
a gold  mine  in  the  Mission,  went  out  to  a small  coun- 
try place,  and  stayed  with  a priest  there.  Just  at  the 
time  when  a religious  paper  in  Maracaibo  was  pub- 
lishing his  picture  and  confession  of  faith,  Maldonado 
was  putting  on  his  priest’s  clothes  again.  May  the 
Lord  have  pity  on  his  soul.  Well,  Satan  got  a good 
slam  in  on  us  in  Maldonado,  but  we  know  that  our 
Lord  will  make  it  all  work  out  for  the  best  in  the 
end. 

Agreeing  according  to  Matthew  18:19,  we  are  all 
praying  for  a revival  such  as  this  place  has  never 
seen,  and  that  the  Chapels  may  be  full  of  true  believ- 
ers, and  that  the  work  will  have  to  spread,  and  that  we 
may  be  fit  instruments  to  be  used  for  this  thing.  Here 
is  where  you  can  all  help  us,  by  agreeing  with  us  and 
praying  for  us.  May  the  Lord  give  us  this  more  than 
all  things  else.” 

Leader  resumes. 

Let  us  pray! 


95 


HOW  TO  USE  THE  MAP,  MOTTO  AND 
CHART  MATERIAL 


In  order  to  get  the  best  results  from  the  use  of 
Talks  on  Latin  America,  impressions  should  be 
presented  not  only  through  the  ear,  but  through  the 
eye.  A Key  Map,  locating  all  our  Presbyterian 
Mission  Stations  in  the  countries  studied,  furnishes 
the  information  which  is  to  be  transferred  to  the 
Outline  Latin  American  Wall  Map,  as  the  Talks 
are  developed.  This  gives  the  geographical  back- 
ground, essential  to  the  thorough  grasp  of  the  facts, 
presented  in  the  Talks.  Pupils  should  be  encour- 
aged to  use  small  outline  maps  in  note-books  upon 
which  they  will  locate  the  Mission  Stations  as  they 
are  indicated  from  the  platform  on  the  large  outline 
wall  map. 

The  blackboard  work  suggested  in  the  Talks 
for  the  Leader  will  greatly  reinforce  the  truths 
that  are  being  presented.  The  pupils  should  record 
this  material  as  well  in  their  note-books. 

The  mottoes  and  charts  found  on  the  following 
pages  should  be  enlarged  to  poster  size  by  the  older 
pupils.  It  will  offer  them  an  activity  profitable 
both  to  them  and  to  the  school  at  large.  Select 
each  week  those  posters  which  seem  best  adapted 
for  the  particular  Talk.  The  statistics  of  each  Mis- 
sion should  be  used  in  connection  with  the  country 
studied.  The  map  and  general  posters  after  being 


97 


first  shown  should  be  in  use  constantly  throughout 
the  course.  The  posters  on  a particular  country 
should  be  used  only  for  a single  Sunday,  but  kept, 
so  that  at  the  close  of  the  course  all  may  be  dis- 
played together.  It  will  be  profitable,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  course,  to  use  on  week  nights  the  ster- 
eopticon  lectures  of  the  Foreign  Board  on  Mexico, 
on  Guatemala,  on  South  America,  and  Journeying 
from  Panama  to  Parana,  which  is  a new  lecture 
(1916)  on  South  America.  These  can  be  rented 
from  the  Foreign  Missions  Library,  156  Fifth  Ave- 
nue, New  York  City,  or  from  Mr.  James  M.  Patter- 
son, 1 1 17  Wright  Building,  St.  Louis,  Mo.;  Rev. 
Charles  E.  Bradt,  D.D.,  509  S.  Wabash  Ave.,  Chi- 
cago, 111. ; Rev.  Ernest  F.  Hall,  D.D.,  920  Sacramento 
St.,  San  Francisco,  Cal.;  Miss  Abby  Lamberson,  454 
Alder  St.,  Portland,  Oregon.  Rental  $1,00  and  ex- 
press charges  both  ways. 


MEXICO  MISSION,  1916 
Established  1872 


Stations 4 

Out-stations 14 

Missionaries 20 

Mexican  Workers  _ 12 
Churches 

Organized 8 

Unorganized  12 


Communicants  _ _ 659 

Adherents 1,005 

Sunday  School 
Membership  _ _ 389 
Schools  ______  2 

Pupils 77 


Other  Societies  at  Work  in  Mexico 


American  Bible  Society 
Christian  and  Mission- 
ary Alliance 
Congregationalists 
Disciples  of  Christ 
Episcopalians 
Friends 

International  Commit- 
tee, Y.  M.  C.  A. 


Northern  Baptists 
Northern  Methodists 
Seventh-Day 
Adventists 
Southern  Baptists 
Southern  Methodists 
Southern  Presbyter- 
ians 


99 


GUATEMALA  MISSION,  1916 
Established  1882 

Stations  _ 2 Churches 

Out-stations o Organized 3 

Missionaries 11  Unorganized  _ _ 47 

Guatemalan  Work-  Communicants 685 

ers 7 Adherents  4,000 

Sunday  School  Membership  _ 1,010 

Schools 2 

Pupils 45 

Other  Society  at  Work  in  Guatemala 
Moravians 


COLOMBIA 

MISSION,  1916 

Established  1856 

Stations  _ 6 

Churches 

Out-stations 5 

Organized  _ _ _ _ 4 

Missionaries  _ _ _ 26 

Unorganized  _ _ 10 

Colombian  Work- 

Communicants  398 

ers  38 

Adherents  _ _ _ 1,435 

Sunday  School  Membership  _ 733 

Schools 

_ _ _ _ 8 

Pupils 

- 74i 

Other  Societies  at  Work  in  Colombia 

American  Bible  Society 
British  and  Foreign 
Bible  Society 

Gospel  Missionary 

Union 

CHILE  MISSION,  1916 

Established  1868 

Stations  _ _ 4 

Communicants  _ 

- 946 

Out-stations  _ _ _ 15 

Adherents  _ _ _ 

6,030 

Missionaries  _ _ _ 21 

Sunday  School 

Chilean  Workers  _ 50 
Churches 

Membership  _ 

2,986 

Organized 17 

Schools  _ 

10 

Unorganized  _ _ 17 

Pupils  _ - _ . 

- 952 

Other  Societies 

at  Work  in  Chile 

American  Bible  Society 

Northern  Methodists  j 

British  and  Foreign 

Salvation  Army 

Bible  Society 

Seventh  Day 

Christian  and  Mission- 

Adventists 

ary  Alliance 

South  American 

Mis- 

International  Com- 

sionary Society 

mittee,  Y.  M.  C.  A. 

101 


BRAZIL  MISSION,  1916 
Established  1863 

Stations 14  Communicants  _ 6,265 


Out-stations  — - 122 

Missionaries 36 

Brazilian  Workers  80 
Churches 

Organized 21 

Unorganized 118 

Other  Societies 

American  Bible  Society 
British  and  Foreign 
Bible  Society 
Christian  Missions  in 
Many  Lands 
Episcopalians 
Evangelical  Union  of 
South  America 
Inland  South  America 
Missionary  Union 


Adherents 5,205 

Sunday  School 

Membership  _ 1,963 

Schools 9 

Pupils 5°4 


at  Work  in  Brazil 

International  Commit- 
tee Y.  M.  C.  A. 
Mackenzie  College, 

Sao  Paulo 
Seventh  Day 
Adventists 

Southern  Methodists 
Southern  Baptists 
Southern  Presbyter- 
ians 


102 


VENEZUELA  MISSION,  1916 

Established  1897 

Stations 1 

Communicants 

.67 

Out-stations 0 

Adherents 

200 

Missionaries  _4 

Venezuelan  Workers  10 
Churches 

Sunday  School 
Membership 

- 75 

Organized 1 

Schools  - 

_ 2 

Unorganized 1 

Pupils  _ . 

- 5i 

Other  Societies  at  Work  in  Venezuela 

American  Bible  Society 

Christian  and  Mission- 

British  and  Foreign 

ary  Alliance 

Bible  Society 

Christian  Missions 

in 

Many  Lands 

VENEZUELA 

The  First  Country  in  South 

America 

To  be  Discovered 

1498  1 

To  Have  a Monastery 

1513  ! 

To  Celebrate  Mass 

1513 

To  Declare  Its  Independence 

1811  ' 

103 


Area  of  Venezuela  about 
Equals  that  of  id  States  and 
District  of  Columbia 


New  England 

States 

Venezuela 

Middle  Atlantic 
Stales 

398,394  Sq. Mi. 

South  At!  antic 
States 

exctudiqg  Viigirria 

540,785  Sq. Mi. 

Population  of  Same  States  and 
District  nearly  13  times  greater 
than  that  of  Venezuela 


1 2,S16,484  | 


3 6,001,856 


104 


THE  LIVING  CHRIST 
FOR  LATIN  AMERICA 


LATIN  AMERICA 

Discovered  by  Columbus  in  the  15th  century 
Rediscovered  by  North  Americans  in  the  20th 
century 

— J.  H.  McLean 


HOW 

urify  a 

erverted  Christianity 
rotestant 

roblem  of  Latin  America 


105 


LATIN  AMERICA  CONTAINS 


One-fifth  of  the  earth’s  surface 
One-twentieth  of  the  earth’s  population 
Less  than  two  persons  to  the  square  mile 
More  unexplored  territory  than  all  the  rest  of 
the  world 


LATIN  AMERICA  OFFERS 

Unexplored  areas  to  the  pioneer 
Unoccupied  acres  to  the  immigrant 
Inexhaustible  mines  to  the  miner 
Immense  forests  to  the  lumberman 
A baptized  paganism  to  the  Missionary 


GREAT  BRITAIN’S 

Monthly  Dividends  from  Investments— 
in  South  America 
Total  More  Than  All  Spent  on 
Evangelical  Missions  in  South  America 
in  One  Hundred  Years 


106 


“D  OM  ANISM  has 
given  South 
America  neither  the 
religion,  the  ethics, 
nor  the  politics  of 
the  N e w Testa- 
ment” 

— R.  E.  Speer 


NORTH  AMERICA’S  IDEA  OF  LATIN 
AMERICA 

Revolutions 

Earthquakes 

Bankruptcy 

IS  THIS  YOUR  IDEA? 


107 


W £ William  1 

■\enn  had  settled  in  1 

■\eru 

Francisco  J 

[ izarro  had  settled  inj 

ennsylvania 

WOULD  HISTORY  BE  DIFFERENT? 

HOW? 

JTli  i^T  a cr  a kTTli  Cf a lT  j iT a lT  a CT  a u LTld  ^Yli  k^T ^ lTj 

pj^  n?  rr  jT  rn  rr  ^x^  pi^  rp  pj^ 


* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 


« /CROSSES  there  are 
^ in  abundance,  but 
when  shall  the  doctrine 

of  the  cross  be  held 

?” 


up 


—Henry  Martyn’s  Statement 
Regarding  Brazil 


* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 


k^T a CTLa  lTj  ^Tld  k^TLi  kTTj  k^Tli  k^Tj  k^Tld  iTld  iYj  ^Tj  wY^ 

PJ^  r|^  PJ^  PJ^  P^  PJ^  rj^  rj^  rj^  rj^  rji  rj^  Pj^  PJ^ 


108 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  ON  LATIN  AMERICA 

General 

Beach — Popular  History  and  Report  of  the  Con- 
gress on  Christian  Work  in  Latin  America. 
Missionary  Education  Movement,  $1.00. 
Blakeslee — Latin  America.  Stechert,  $2.50 
Bryce — South  America.  Macmillan,  $2.50 
Calderon— -Latin  America:  Its  Rise  and  Progress. 
Scribner,  $3.00 

Clark — The  Continent  of  Opportunity.  Revell, 

$^50 

Daniels — Makers  of  South  America.  Missionary 
Education  Movement,  60  cents 
Dawson — South  American  Republics,  2 vols.  Put- 
nam, $3.00 

Enock — Republics  of  Central  and  South  America. 
Scribner,  $3.00 

Ferris- — Land  of  the  Golden  Man.  Missionary  Edu- 
cation Movement,  50  cents 
Hale— -The  South  Americans.  Bobbs-Merrill,  $2.50 
Halsey  and  Trull — Panama  to  Parana.  Presby- 
terian Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  10  cents 
Holt — South  America.  Holt,  50  cents 
Koebel — The  South  Americans.  Dodd,  Mead,  $3.00 
McLean- — The  Living  Christ  for  Latin  America. 
Presbyterian  Board  of  Publication  and  Sabbath 
School  Work.  55  cents 

Pepper-— Panama  to  Patagonia.  McClurg,  $2.50 
Report  of  Regional  Congresses  in  Latin  Amer- 
ica. Missionary  Education  Movement,  $1.00 
Ross — South  of  Panama.  Century  Company,  $2.40 
Speer — South  American  Problems.  Student  Volun- 
teer Movement,  75  cents 
The  Unity  of  the  Americas.  Missionary  Edu- 
cation Movement,  25  cents. 


109 


Stuntz — South  American  Neighbors.  Missionary 
Education  Movement,  60  cents 
The  Panama  Congress  on  Christian  Work  in 
Latin  America,  3 vols.  Missionary  Education 
Movement,  $2.50 

Trull — Latin  American  Stories.  Presbyterian 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  25  cents,  postpaid. 

Mexico 

MacHugh— Modern  Mexico.  Dodd,  Mead,  $3.50 
Winter— -Mexico  and  Her  People  of  To-day.  L.  C. 
Page,  $3.00 

Winton — Mexico  To-day.  Missionary  Education 
Movement,  60  cents 

Guatemala 

Franck— -Tramping  Through  Mexico,  Guatemala 
and  Honduras.  Century  Company,  $2.00 
Winter. — Guatemala  and  Her  People  of  To-day. 
L.  C.  Page,  $3.00 

Colombia 

Scruggs  — Colombian  and  Venezuelan  Republics. 
Little,  Brown  & Co.,  $1.75  net 

Chile 

Winter— Chile.  L.  C.  Page,  $3.00 
Brazil 

Fenn — Horacio,  A Tale  of  Brazil.  American  Tract 
Society,  $1.00 

Gammon — The  Evangelical  Invasion  of  Brazil. 

Presbyterian  Committee  of  Publication,  75c. 
Tucker— The  Bible  in  Brazil.  Revell,  $1.25. 

V enezuela 

Scruggs— Colombian  and  Venezuelan  Republics. 
Little,  Brown  & Co.,  $1.75  net 


no 


